


Family Ties

by kenna_the_antenna



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Let Time be a dad to the boys, The heroes have two braincells and Time has none of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:33:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23416774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenna_the_antenna/pseuds/kenna_the_antenna
Summary: Time knew Twilight was his descendent. He could see it in all facets of the young man's personality, accepted it, and loved his Pup like he would his own future children. He just never put two and two together to ever think that his protege's protege might be his descendent too.
Relationships: Time & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 317
Kudos: 1110





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've always held the headcanon that Wild is part of the little descendent family Time and Twilight are part of, near and dear to my heart.   
> Also that Time and Malon are the exact sort of parental figures Wild needs, and Wild is the exact sort of teenager that those two need, to test their parenting skills on, and Twilight is just happy to be an unproblematic older brother.

When Time had woken up in an oddly familiar Hyrule instead of the new one he had gone to sleep in, his first thought was that Malon must have let him sleep in. It smelled like the lilacs scattered throughout Hyrule Field, a smell that would drift through the windows with the warm morning light. 

He’d be roused by the cluck of the cuccos and impatient snuffs of Epona and her foals for their breakfast, and Time would simply wrap his arms tighter around his wife and bury his face in her neck with half-asleep promises of getting up after five more minutes. He’d feel a smile tug on his face as he’d listen to the redheaded woman complain about the day-old stubble scratching her, but she’d shift in his hold and pepper his face with kisses, nonetheless. 

Except Time wasn’t back at Lon Lon Ranch, and the lump in his arms wasn’t his darling wife. He was in camp with eight other Heroes of Courage, hugging his blanket like the homesick fool he was. This was his Hyrule, though. The thought sent Time sitting up. He knew his Hyrule like the back of his hand, spending years adventuring across it all. This was his. Which meant he was finally back in the same Hyrule with Malon once more. 

They were in cave near Lake Hylia, a bit of a ways away from the ranch, but close enough he felt his heart flutter at the possibility of seeing her again. 

The Hero of Time met eyes with a disgruntled and mildly worried Wild, who had an obvious question of ‘What in the world are you doing?’ written across his face. It was early, early enough that only Wild and Time seemed to be awake. The eldest knew the scarred Hero had a habit of rising before even the sun, and would offer to take over the last few hours of watch for whoever had it that night. The older Heroes usually shushed him and tried to get the usually wired Wild back to sleep, but last night had been Wind’s turn and from the soft snores coming from the bed roll. Nearby, Time assumed Wild had been successful in his offering tonight. 

“We shifted Hyrules.” It wasn’t really a question on Time’s part, but Wild nodded silently, prompting the eldest to continue. “This is my Hyrule.”

Another nod from Wild and Time wondered when the other had familiarized himself with this place. They spent the most time in an unknown Hyrule, but on the occasion Hylia, or whatever being decided to shift them elsewhere, more often than not, it was into Time’s Hyrule. 

“We could make it to Lon Lon Ranch by dinner.” Wild quipped and it was Time’s turn to stare, dumbfounded. 

The younger Hero seemed to realize what he’d said and shifted his glance anywhere but on Time, “Um.. I should start on breakfast. I promised Legend cinnamon rolls, last night, and they take forever to make because you have to wait for the dough to rise. And then you think you’re only making so many rolls, but the dough just keeps rising and rising, and you end up with like... triple what you wanted. “

Wild excused himself from his nervous rambling to scan through the Sheikah slate, and when the pointed stare didn’t shift from the back of his head, he tried another tactic. 

“Twi was having trouble sleeping. You should check on him.”

That granted the younger mercy from Time asking any questions of his own, at least for the time being. With a quiet groan, he climbed to his feet to tiptoe around the still sleeping figures till he reached his protégé. The young man’s face was smooth, carefree from any worry. From the added blankets tossed over his frame, Time could only assume that Wild had already talked to him, gotten him back to sleep, and tucked him in to his bedroll once he wasn’t worried about waking him up again. It sent a sliver of warmth crawling through the oldest Hero’s chest to know Twilight had other people he could trust and rely on. 

It began to sprinkle outside, and that, combined with seeing his protégé contently napping, made his own head feel heavy. He planned on talking with Wild eventually, but sleep was too beautiful a siren to resist for long. Time shuffled back to his own bedroll and soon was napping once more, dreaming of one very special country bumpkin he couldn’t wait to see. 

When the eldest Hero woke once more, it was to the chatter of voices. He assumed a few hours must have passed, for it was lighter even in the cave, though he still could hear the rain pattering outside. 

“Morning, Old Man.” Hyrule greeted him, laughing brightly as he got a groan and a half-hearted attempt at sitting up in response. 

“Here.” The cinnamon rolled shoved towards him was far more welcome and after taking the plate, Time managed to find his voice and thank the Hero of Hyrule, and then Wild for the breakfast. He usually didn’t sleep in, but he noticed that even Sky was awake before him. 

“Time, do you know where we are?” Warriors asked between bites of what must be his third roll. “We didn’t go to bed last night in this place.”

“It’s my Hyrule, I woke up earlier. I know where we are and it’s not that far away from the ranch. I was thinking we should go once it stops raining and spend the next few days there, recuperating. We’re all in pretty rough shape and as much as I’d like us to push forward, we can’t do that if we aren’t even in the right Hyrule.” 

“And you want to see Malon.” Wind cooed, oblivious to the crumbs and creamed smeared on his cheek.

The eldest smiled ruefully and nodded, “And I want to see Malon, yes. I assume you are all excited to see some actual beds.”

The resulting groan confirmed his assumptions. They weren’t faring too well after their last encounter with some of those infernal infected monsters. Every one of them was littered with a fair share of scrapes and bruises, Four had a twisted ankle and Legend had taken a knock to his head that had left him so nauseous it took a full day before he dared open his mouth to spit venom at Warriors’ antics without fear something more than words might come up. 

They all needed a few days with warm beds and good food. Helping out on the farm was a far cry from battling monsters and getting away by the skin of their teeth. Time dug into his breakfast and glanced out the mouth of the cave. It was positively pouring now, but it looked to at least still be mid-morning. 

“We’ll head out once the rain stops. I don’t need to worry about any one of you getting sick on top of your injuries.” The leader announced and the spattering of agreement settled the protective spike in his heart. These boys were smart, he shouldn’t worry about them too much. This was Hyrule, they were safe for now. 

His one good eye settled on Wild again. The younger Hero didn’t notice, the dark circles under his eyes a bit darker, but he still was laughing alongside Hyrule and Wind, never wiser to the look he was getting. Lon Lon Ranch was the perfect place for them all to recover a bit before they were whisked away again, but it was also the perfect place for Time to get a chance to talk to Wild alone without raising any eyebrows. He was going to use that to his full advantage. 

“Okay, everybody finish up breakfast and pack your things. Be ready for when the rain decides to stop. Pup? You’re carrying Four again today so- Four don’t give me that look, you’re supposed to keep off of that ankle. Sky, keep an eye on Legend. That’s your job today. Wind? Hyrule? Don’t be dumb, I can see it in your eyes. Warriors, don’t antagonize anybody today. Cub, you’re in the front with me. I like my Hyrule just fine and you are not allowed to set anything on fire today.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's short, sorry folks! The next chapter is looking to be a whopper though!

It took longer than Time wanted to reach Lon Lon Ranch, but they arrived nonetheless. The rain hadn’t any desire to stop and the younger boys were getting antsy. Time felt restless as well and let them all get on the road when the downpour had slowed to a drizzle. As much as he didn’t want to risk anyone getting sick, they had wasted enough time and he didn’t want them to be caught outside once night fell. 

He considered his Hyrule fairly safe compared to some of the other Heroes, but the people could be unkind. Added with the recent increase of attack wherever they went, he’d rather risk a little sniffle than any of these boys getting run through in the middle of the night. 

The going was slow, eight pairs of soggy boots sloshing through puddle after puddle, and one unhappy Four being carried along by Twilight. It felt like every few steps they had to stop and scrape the mud off their shoes, almost too heavy to lift. 

After a few hours, the drizzle eased, and Time could see a few rays of sunshine peek through the clouds. It was a welcome sight and as the roads began to dry a little, the boys apparently felt good enough to chat instead of the tired silence they had been traveling in. It had started out with Wind complaining about the mud in his shoes and devolved into a recounting of the biggest chuchu each hero had fought. It was a silly little conversation, but it lifted their spirits and made the trek easier to endure.

By the time they reached the ranch, the sun had just sunk behind the mountains and they were all dead on their feet. They hadn’t stopped for lunch, simply munching on what they had in their bags so they didn’t have to stop. The fields of Hyrule were easy, if tedious walking. No real need for breaks like they had when they were higher in elevation, hiking up elevation in mountains. It was a flat expanse, nothing but the stray traveler and miles upon miles of rolling grass. 

Time felt his heart swell as he led the way up the steps and knocked on the door. Wind was already out cold, getting a piggyback from Warriors while Legend and Hyrule each had clamped a hand around one of Sky’s wrist, the latter near sleepwalking. Even Wild was dragging his feet, and Time had wound an arm around his waist, scared his protégé’s protégé may trip and crack his head open. Usually he wouldn’t worry so much, but Time had a suspicion Wild hadn’t slept in the last few days. He couldn’t blame him, some nights were just bad, and he was just glad Wild wasn’t alone right now. 

The door swung open and the eldest Hero nearly swept up his wife like the lovesick puppy he felt like, but Malon beat him to it. Her arms were around him, soft and sweet, smelling like home. Time noticed they’d dragged Wild into the late-night family reunion, but after sharing a look with the love of his life, they laughed and swallowed the dazed younger Hero in another hug despite his feeble protests. 

“Goodness, what a wonderful surprise! You boys look exhausted! Come in, come in, there’s plenty of room. I didn’t know you were coming or else I would have prepared a better dinner.” Malon stepped aside to let them all in. 

The mud-spattered and bedraggled group piled into the house, some more gracefully than others, all mustering their gratitude and praise. As thrilled as he was to see Malon once more, he knew he had to care for the boys. His goal was to get a few bites of food in them and send them off to bed. 

His wife, the angel she was, was already spooning the bit of stew she’d made into bowls and buttering bread. It wasn’t much, but the Heroes couldn’t stay awake to eat much more. 

The next hour was a mess of prodding lolling heads and coaxing to get muddy boots kicked off before the Heroes could fall into bed. The older ones were faring better than the younger, but even they just wanted to go to sleep. Once the younger eight had gotten in a bed, even if it wasn’t their own, in the case of Sky falling asleep at the foot of Wind’s bed, and Wild and Twilight fast asleep in the same bed, the mentor having tossed a protective arm around his protégé much like an older brother, Time helped Malon clean up the table. 

“You better not have pushed them too hard just to see me.” She teased, swatting Time with a towel.

“Hey now, I would never.” He feigned indignation, “I was the one willing to wait till the rain stopped, but you know how short your patience is when you’re a teenager. Wind got bored of waiting, and then Wild and Hyrule followed in trying to get me to let them leave. And-“ 

He saw Malon begin to protest, “before you say I was bad for letting them walk in the rain, it was only a drizzle. I made them wait that long, anyway. Sky is as cranky as you when he gets sick.” Time laughed, ducking the towel thrown at him. “You’re a bit sassy, ma’am.” 

The Hero pulled his wife in close for a kiss once she got around the table, “You’re the worst.” She sighed, features softening, “I missed you so much. I hate knowing you and those boys are off risking your lives every day, getting whisked off to only-Hylia-knows-where.”

“I don’t like it either.” Time replied, giving her another kiss, sweet and chaste. “But at least we have each other out there. Someone to watch our backs. I wish I had that when I was a kid. Now I’m just an old man. Did you hear my knees going up the stairs earlier?”

Malon laughed and Time tried to burn it into his memory. “I think those were just the stairs creaking. Now, the table’s all clean and if you stay up much longer, you might actually look like an old man. Let’s head to bed. Just...one more peek.” She giggled and the Hero of Time could only smile ruefully and follow her up the stairs. 

She’d taken a habit of checking in on the boys after the first visit, and Time couldn’t blame Malon, he did the same when they were traveling. Check if they were all okay, still sleeping soundly, give them some comfort if they weren’t, and tug blankets back up when they’d been kicked off. After a few minutes in the doorway, making sure each and every one of them were doing okay, the couple went to their own room to curl under the covers. 

Time felt beyond content to have Malon back in his arms, and not having to worry about the boys for at least the night. He wanted to tell Malon about what Wild said earlier that day, but sleep pulled on his eyelids and he could only manage soft whisperings, wishing his love a good night. There was always tomorrow to talk to her about it. He had a feeling it would be an easy morning to sleep in for the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you do, please feel free to leave a kudos or comment, they make my day!  
> Have a wonderful day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't all I wanted it to be, by inspiration is a fleeting mistress.  
> The next chapter is planned to have more action and less emotionally-stunted boys trying to talk. Yay!  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Link, wake up!”

Time startled awake, ready to fight for a moment till he realized his wife was shaking him, a smile gracing her face. He swore she was more beautiful every day he got to look at her. 

“What? Stop whisper-shouting, what’s going on?” he asked, groaning as he sat up. He knew he wasn’t exactly a spry teenager anymore, but he sorely missed the days when his knees wouldn’t creak and the countless nights sleeping on the ground hadn’t taken their toll. 

“Come here, dear.” Malon insisted, latching onto his arm and dragging him out of bed. “Breakfast is ready, but I have something to show you.” 

Time bit back another groan when his ragged socks did nothing to protect him from the cold floor. He really needed a new pair; he’d put patches on patches. He followed Malon out their bedroom door and down the hall to one of the bedrooms the boys were in. When he poked his head in, he saw what the redhead had been so keen to show him. 

The boys had migrated, it seemed. The beds had been pushed to the sides of the room while the mattresses, blankets and pillows had been spread out in the middle. Eight Heroes of Courage were fast asleep in a pile of softly rising chests and tangled limbs. 

Time took note of Legend and Warriors back-to-back, Wind draped over them, seemingly doing his best impression of a blanket while he slept. Hyrule looked as if he’d been trampled by a horse, the odd way in which his limbs were splayed, but the eldest Hero knew that was just what the boy found comfortable… Time made sure to watch to see he was breathing. Just in case. Four and Wild were using what they’d claimed before as the ‘most comfortable pillow known to Hyrule’ to rest their heads. It just so happened to be Sky. The borderline narcoleptic had never seemed to mind his torso being used as a pillow before, and this morning, Time found that to be no different. 

While Four was curled in a ball, unproblematic even when unconscious, Time had to stifle a laugh at Wild. The scarred Hero was almost as bad at positioning as Hyrule and Wind, spread out to seemingly take up as much room as possible. He’d managed to plant a foot in Warriors’ stomach sometime through the night, not hard enough to wake either of them, and slap a hand over Hyrule’s face. The other two limbs appeared to have been taken hostage by Twilight, who besides being a bit clingy, wasn’t causing issues for anyone else. 

This was definitely worth getting out of bed to see. 

Time snuck Wild’s Sheikah slate to snap a picture before he turned back to Malon to motion for them to go back into the hallway. 

“I knew you’d want to see that.” His wife smiled brightly, “I woke up at sunrise like I usually do, and Wild wasn’t up so I started on the chores, because I know he’ll beat me to breakfast if I’m not quick enough. He wasn’t up when I got back, so I made breakfast and now he’s still not up. Poor thing must be exhausted. You all must be. You didn’t wake up when I kissed you good morning before I went out to feed the cuccos. You never miss morning kisses.” 

The teasing smile his wife wore made Time mimic it before leaning down and giving her a proper smooch,

“I’m sorry, I must have been more tired than I thought. It’s been weeks since we saw a proper bed. I think that’s why the boys didn’t end up staying in their beds, too used to sleeping in a heap. At least they had the sense to bring the mattresses to the floor. Last time this happened, we were in an inn and boys just piled in with blankets. No pillows, no mattresses, not even their bedrolls. Just blankets. They complained for days afterwards.” 

Tine did find it a bit strange to see Wild sleep in, but he considered it a blessing. The poor boy needed as much sleep as he could get. 

As much as Time would like to let the younger Heroes sleep as much as they wanted, he knew it wouldn’t help anyone to get the eight off of their usual sleep schedule. They could just go to bed early. Taking one more fond glance at the sight in the room, he rapped harshly against the doorframe, ignoring the cacophony of groans.

“Rise and shine! Breakfast is ready!”

Breakfast was a healthy mixture of varying stages of consciousness. Wind was wide awake, Sky couldn’t even open his eyes, and the rest of the boys were in the stages in between those two. By the time they were washing up the plates, all nine Heroes were awake. They helped with chores, but by the time the afternoon rolled around, most of the Heroes had gone to town for supplies, to socialize, and help Talon bring his wares to town. 

The only ones who remained on the ranch were Time, Malon, Twilight, and Wild. Time was happy to spend time with his wife, and Twilight usually would choose a big farm over a bustling town any day. Wild didn’t like crowds, and Time didn’t blame him for staying where it was quieter. Social anxiety didn’t just go away when it was convenient, and if this was a safe space for Wild, Time was thrilled his home could be of assistance.

Currently, the four of them were out in the garden, pulling weeds as Malon and Wild bounced around ideas for dinner. They’d both decided stew was too hearty of a meal for such a hot and somewhat lazy day. The two cooks seemed to agree on rice balls, but were stuck on the type. Mushroom? Fish? Meat? It was decided to put it to a vote once the others came back. Time was happy they agreed on apple pie for dessert. It was his favorite and Hylia-be-damned if he wasn’t nearly drooling at the thought of an apple pie made by the two best cooks he’d ever met. 

Time was dragged out of his thoughts by a familiar sound. A song. He knew Epona’s song forwards and backwards. He could sing it in his sleep and he was sure Malon could do the same. He knew his Pup knew it as well. The strange thing was that it was coming from Wild. The scarred Hero was oblivious to the stares he was getting from the other three, too wrapped up picking green beans for a side dish, humming the song softly. 

There was no mistaking it, but how did Wild know it? Malon hadn’t sung it in front of the boys and neither Time and Twilight hadn’t hummed it during those long days on the road. They weren’t the humming sort. Usually that was Wind and Sky’s department. Sometimes Wild, like now. But there was no way he had heard that song from any of them, so how did he know the tune? 

Wild seemed to finally notice the three pairs of eyes on him and glanced around before stiffening, realizing something. It was the same startled look he’d worn yesterday when he let slip that he knew how far away they were from Lon Long Ranch.

“Um..oh! We need apples for the pie.” He abruptly stood, brushing off his trousers before he made a beeline out of the ranch and towards the river where the apple trees were. 

“You heard that, right?” Malon whispered once they couldn’t see Wild’s retreating figure anymore. “How does he know that? Did you teach it to him? Why did he seem so scared?”

Time bit his bottom lip, glad Malon had caught on, and Twilight too by the looks of it. Wild was hiding something from him. He however didn’t like that Malon was right. Wild had looked scared. Why in the world was he scared? Time didn’t want any of the boys scared of him, especially not Wild. The Hero of the Wild’s trust was about as easy to come by as a friendly lizalfos.

“I’m going to talk to him about it. Let’s not overwhelm him, just... forget about it for now.” Time announced, heading over to where he’d last seen Wild. He wasn’t very hard to find, indeed picking apples, no humming this time. 

“Hey.” One word and Wild was shrinking were he sat in the tree, a bundle of apples balanced in his arms. 

“Uh, hey Time.” 

Time, for all his years traveling, adventuring, and socializing, still had yet to master the art of beating around the bush. 

“So about earlier… where’d you learn that song? And yesterday, when you said it would take most of the day to get here to the ranch, you were right. How’d you know?” Time climbed up the same tree, sitting in an adjacent branch to watch Wild. 

The younger Hero looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, talking about this right now.

“There’s a bard. His name is Kass, he taught me the song. Said some old timey Hero used it to call his horse companion.” Wild said, “And I dunno, I liked it? It sounded familiar and kind of reminded me of home. I think? I think that’s what that feeling is. I don’t remember where I used to call home before… everything. I just know where I call home now, in Hateno, in my house. But that song makes me feel the same way that house does.”

Time felt a little stupid forgetting so easily the extent to which this poor boy had his memories robbed. One hundred and seventeen years and he only had a handful of memories. From what Wild and Twilight had let slip, most of those memories weren’t even pleasant ones. 

“As for knowing the distance,” Wild seemed to be choosing his words a bit more carefully. “Our Hyrule’s are similar. I know how long it takes to get from Lake Hylia to the Castle Town Rui- er, Castle Town, from my Hyrule. And I know how long it takes to get from the Ranch to Castle Town here in your Hyrule. I just subtracted the time and guessed? I mean, it’s easier to navigate you and Twilight’s Hyrule. It’s like mine, just… different things in the same places. Wind’s is just a big ocean, and Sky just showed us Skyloft. We haven’t been to the others’ Hyrule’s yet, but so far, yours is the easiest to figure out. We’ve been to it the most.” 

The eldest Hero nodded, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. We do seem to come here often. I still want to explore your Hyrule and see if it’s really that similar.” Time decided to let his little interrogation go. It was hard to push Wild for information, even when he felt like the younger was hiding something. Was there a Lon Lon Ranch in his Hyrule? Why wouldn’t he admit it? Did Wild think it would upset him?

Wild had always been one of the more open of the Heroes, and if he wanted to keep something secret, Time wouldn’t force him to admit it. They all had their rights to keep their lives as personal as they wanted, as long as it didn’t put anyone else’s life in the group at risk. As curious as he was, Time wouldn’t consider this a ‘life-threatening’ secret, whatever it was. Maybe Wild didn’t even know the full extent of the secret he was keeping; he only had fragments to cling to, maybe he wanted to gather all the pieces before he shared what it was. 

“Alright, Cub.” Time reached over to ruffle Wild’s hair, “Let’s head back. You have enough apples there to feed a small army. Let me help.” He took half the fruits and helped Wild scramble down the tree, feeling a bit more at ease. His curiosity was hardly sated, but he’d reminded himself that he could always simply talk to Wild. Even if the rambunctious teen hid a few things, Time knew him to be honest in the words he did share.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I call this chapter, 'Gee Time, maybe you should just talk to Wild, you seem to have some things on your mind'  
> I'm bad at writing angst and describing BOTW guardians, sorry. But Warriors gets drunk at the end and gives forehead smooches.  
> Please enjoy!

Time dreamt of blood and smoke.

He dreamt of death.

Time remembered going to bed. They’d stayed up late, laughing and talking around the dinner table, exchanging funny stories till Wind had fallen asleep and everyone else headed to bed soon after. He’d checked on the boys, happy to see each of them asleep or close to it. He’d crawled into bed and kissed Malon goodnight, allowing the soft pitter of rain to lull him into sleep.

So why was he here? Where was he?

He was in a field, one he’d never seen before but felt so familiar. There were mountains all around, steep cliffs that could end someone’s life with one ill placed foot or loose rock. It barely had his attention compared to what lay before him.

What in Hylia’s name were those?

Towering creatures of metal, scuttling around like spiders would, were all over the field. Some lay still, limbs hacked off and riddled with arrows. Worse were the ones who were active. There were people, soldiers in their armor, shining gear smeared with dirt and singed with fire, trying to fight the machines. It felt as if the harder they fought, the more the machines grew in number. Time watched in horror as soldiers were blown to bits around him, trampled underfoot as the machines surged forward towards the wall behind him.

He heard a cry and turned to see a man tackle him to the ground, feeling the sear of heat lick at his face. One of those machines had shot at him and if it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of that man, he’d be dead.

“Watch it, kid! You should be heading towards Hateno with the rest of the civilians!” The man shouted, standing up to only run back into the fray.

Kid? Time knew he wasn’t the old man the younger Heroes teased him to be, but he certainly wasn’t a child anymore. What was Hateno? He wasn’t a civilian, he needed to stay and fight! He pushed himself off the ground and caught sight of his hands.

These weren’t his hands, tiny little things, void of the scars he’d acquired, the rough callouses of years fighting monsters. His hands hadn’t looked like this since he was a teenager, fresh out of his adventures in a body that felt too big for him.

Wait, these were Wild’s clothes. They were torn and covered in blood, but they were unmistakable.

“Link!” he whirled around to see a girl around Hyrule’s just, a bit older than Wild. He’d never seen her before in his life, but she regarded him as he would an old friend. He wanted to tell her to run, but he could only cough up blood. He looked down to see that most of the blood covering him was his own. He was hurt, horribly so.

“Link, get out of here.” She begged, “I can handle this, get to safety!”

 _No_ , his brain supplied, _she can’t handle this and we can’t leave. We have a duty to protect her._

Time felt his hands grip around a sword he’d dropped, the Master Sword. He glared at it with disdain, but his body wasn’t moving of his own accord anymore. He had to protect this girl.

 _Princess Zelda. Everyone else is dead, but I can still save her._ Time felt anguish suffocating him, though he knew it wasn’t his. He felt despair and anger. As one of those horrid machines rushed towards him, making an awful noise, Time felt fear. He saw a flash, heard a scream, and suddenly, he was in bed again.

Time’s chest heaved, drenched in a cold sweat. This was his bed, his room. He wasn’t in a field, in a body that did not belong to him, suffering from wounds that he hadn’t sustained, mourning losses he did not witness.

Malon was not next to him, but he heard a bustle down in the kitchen. The eldest Hero took a shaky breath and buried his face in his hands. He hadn’t cried in years, but now the tears were falling freely. He didn’t know what that was, a dream? A nightmare?

Had that been what Wild experienced before he woke up, a hundred years later? Was he crying for the loss of people he did not know? For the Hero he traveled with? Wild must have been so scared… he had been so young, so certain that death awaited him, but so desperate to save one person he cared for. He’d lost so much and had nothing to show for it save for scars and the blame from his Hyrule that he’d failed them.

Time managed to collect himself, still shaken up from the nightmare he’d just experienced, but unwilling to let anyone know. It felt late, and the chatter from the kitchen let him know he’d slept in. He felt like he was going soft as he headed out. Everyone was up, breakfast half-finished.

“Hey, finally!” Warriors commented, “Wind went to get you up once breakfast was ready, but you were out cold.”

Time shot him a half-hearted glare and sat down next to Malon when she waved him over. At least the brief kiss he got from her made him feel better, though he couldn’t shake that scream out of his head. Had it been Zelda’s or Wild’s?

“Mornin’ sleepyhead, we were worried you would never get up.” His wife offered him a plate of eggs and fried potatoes.

“Sorry, I guess I was more tired than I thought.” Time replied, leaving it at that. He knew Malon was someone he could always trust with everything. He’d shared every facet of himself with her, she excelled at piecing together the broken parts of him in a way he could only imagine. She always seemed to know what to say to make him feel better and had no qualms about smacking some sense into him when need be. He didn’t know if he wanted to tell her this though. He didn’t know if that dream was his to share.

“So, what’s the plan for today, what can we do to help around here?” Twilight asked after the plates were cleared away. Wind and Legend were on dishwashing duty this morning. They had learned on the second visit to Lon Lon Ranch, that a chart was needed to decide who had to help when. They all offered and fights over dishes had turned violent fast.

“Well, that fence on the east side of ranch has been damaged. Nothing’s gotten out yet, but it’s only a matter of time. That needs fixing.” Malon suggested, “The goats need to be milked, and everything needs to be fed still.”

The boys were already heading for the door when she spoke up, “Boys, it looks like it’ll start raining again soon, come in if it does, I don’t want you getting sick.” The cacophony of ‘Yes, ma’ams’ followed the Heroes on the way out, but Time stayed behind, an arm wrapped around his wife’s waist as they watched from the doorway.

“Hm, it’s been raining a lot lately.” He mused, grunting as he got a sharp elbow to the gut.

“Don’t small talk me,” Malon frowned, leaning into his side, “I know that look; something’s on your mind. I also know you’re as thick pea soup sometimes, so I’ll ask you flat out. Do you want to talk about it?”

Time sighed, rolling his eyes jokingly, “You’re awfully aware of what goes through my head, maybe because you’re on it so often.”

The indignant squawk was worth the light punch to his arm and he leaned down to kiss her, “But to answer your question, probably. Not yet. I’m still thinking some stuff through. But when I’m ready, I’ll let you know. That dream I had was weird and I want to process everything before I bounce it off of you.”

Malon tugged him down to kiss his cheek chastely, “Alright, I’ll be waiting. Doesn’t matter if it takes a few hours or a few weeks, I’ll wait till you’re ready.”

Time nodded, watching how the few rays of light that filtered through the clouds lit up her face in soft warm hues, and wondering how he ever could be happy before meeting her.

The late morning rolled into an early afternoon and the rain came back. The boys, ever-happy to please, had to be dragged away from their tasks to come back inside. They didn’t complain being inside once lightning began to crackle across the sky. Instead, they tried to find ways to occupy themselves.

Wind was writing a letter to his sister while Four and Twilight read quietly at the table. Sky was taking the opportunity to nap without anybody using him as a pillow, and Time was fairly certain Warriors and Legend had snuck off to the barn with a bottle of alcohol. Malon and Wild were trying to teach Hyrule how to cook something edible.

Watching them all in the main room, Time felt a twinge in his chest. He recognized the emotion as contentment. This was nice, and it made him excited for the future when he and Malon would have kids of their own, little ones running around. These boys felt like his own already, and he wondered if they’d all still be together when he started a family of his own. A part of him selfishly hoped so.

Goodbyes were bittersweet, but the boys had families of their own to go back to eventually after they finished this adventure and defeated whatever evil was plaguing the various Hyrules. Wind had his little sister and Grandma, Four had mentioned a grandfather, Sky had his Zelda, and Twilight had his adoptive parents and siblings. Some of them didn’t talk about who they had waiting for them. Hyrule, Legend, and Warriors. He wondered who Wild had. He hoped the boy had at least somebody he could consider family, a place where he was welcome and felt safe to rest his head.

Time sighed, thoughts returning to that awful dream again. He shivered and headed out to the barn. Sometimes if felt nice to get tipsy and exchange war stories with the older Heroes.

“Have either of you heard of a place called Hateno?” Time asked, taking a swig from his bottle.

“Hateno?” Warriors asked, “No, I don’t think so. Why?”

“I heard someone mention it recently,” Time said, technically not a lie, “I was curious where it was.”

“Isn’t that in the cook’s Hyrule? Wild’s?” Legend swatted Warrior’s hand away when he snatched the bottle back for a drink. “I think he mentioned a Hateno Town or Village or something. Said he has a house there. From the way he talked about it, he was pretty fond of it, is house and the village. I bet you one hundred rupees his house is out of the way, not next to everyone else’s homes.”  
While Warriors and Legend shook on their new bet, Time mulled over this new bit of information. Hateno was a real place, which meant that dream was probably real.

The thought made his stomach sink so fast, the alcohol in his stomach nearly came right back up. He really hoped that dream wasn’t real.

The eldest Hero heard Malon call them, they had made cookies and they were fresh out of the oven. That distracted him for a while.

All nine Heroes made it to the kitchen to try the snickerdoodles Hyrule had been taught to make, and they spent the rest of their lazy day indoors. It was easier than Time thought with all his time on the road, to pass the time quickly inside. Having eight rambunctious boys and young men to entertain him made it easier.

That day, Time found out that Twilight could beat anybody in an arm-wrestling competition, Wild and Legend were unfairly good at hide-and-seek, and Warriors had a penchant for braiding hair. He also learned that Wind was an unlikely music snob when it came to time signatures, Four had some real zinger jokes, and Sky snorted when he laughed too hard at said jokes.

By the time it was late enough for bed, and Warriors had gotten ahold of another bottle of booze only to drunkenly tuck everyone into bed with a forehead kiss and a ‘I hope you have absolutely delightful dreams, soldier.’ Time felt the stress of the morning fade away.

As he shut his eyes and let the sound of Malon sleeping peacefully next to him, lead him off to a quiet night, one though kept making itself clear in his head.

He really wanted to see Wild’s Hyrule.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be the final one at Lon Lon Ranch and then the boys are hitting the road!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really is just filler to get to the next, far more exciting part of the story.  
> Also I'd like to think WIld is younger than Zelda, so our old man is 116, not 117. Personal hcs and all that.  
> Please enjoy!

Time had heard the cheesy phrase, ‘parting is such sweet sorrow’ enough times it was ingrained in his memory, but he never took it seriously till he’d met Malon. 

He didn’t want to leave her side ever again, but the land of Hyrule still needed him. More importantly, there were eight boys who needed him. He knew he should be grateful for the opportunity to see his wife again amidst their journey, and that most of the other Heroes hadn’t the opportunity, but it made saying goodbye again even more difficult. 

Time knew they had to continue their journey. Today would be the last day they could stay here at Lon Lon Ranch, and he told Malon and the boys as much. He assumed the other Heroes could feel it as well, the tug and pull of adventures waiting impatiently for them. Hyrule needed it’s nine Heroes of Courage and they could either answer the call with their heads held high, or get dragged along, kicking and screaming, by fate’s cruel machinations. 

They would change Hyrules soon, Time could feel it. Soon they would be in a different Hyrule than his own, one where Malon wasn’t present and he had no one to wrap in his arms and press soft kisses down her neck to comfort her when she had a nightmare. No loving wife to knead the tension out of his back and kiss jam off the corners of his mouth in the morning. 

He wondered what the new Hyrule would be like. Would it be the genuinely new one? Or would it be one of the other Heroes? Part of the Hero hoped it would be Wild’s. 

After that troubling dream he’d had, he wanted answers to the questions he had. The other part of him reminded him he may not be able to handle those answers.

It was raining when he had gotten up, and now in the late morning, it was still raining. Where it had been relaxing yesterday, it put the boys on edge today. They wanted to spar and stretch their legs, making sure they were ready for whatever laid ahead of them. The best they could do was check and recheck everything in their bags and make a list of what they needed to stock up on before heading out tomorrow. 

They had been running pretty low on everything and Four was in charge of compiling a list of what they needed to get. Arrows, food, some extra clothing, and a few simple shields. Ever since Wild had introduced the group to shield surfing, he wasn’t the only one breaking them anymore. They’d even gotten Malon to go down a few hills. 

After deciding the rain wasn’t going to stop any, the boys decided to head to Castle Town with their hoods drawn and a pep to their step to get there as quickly as they could. Wind had been told to stay; they tried not to baby the youngest since he didn’t like it. He was just over two years younger than Wild after all, ignoring the hundred-year nap. Wild was just sixteen to Time; it wasn’t as if the young Hero was conscious during the past one hundred years. From what he heard from the scarred teen about trying to get any sort of alcoholic beverage, no one else considered him much of an old man either. Wind was asked to stay anyway, because no one wanted to risk him getting sick out in the rain. The Hero of the Wind was by far, the crankiest ill person out of the nine of them. 

Four stayed, not personally needing anything from town, and Hyrule chose to stay since Malon wanted to teach him how to make bread today. Edible bread, a certain improvement for the Hero’s culinary skills. 

The other six made good time, reaching the town and breaking off into groups to shorten the trip if they could. Legend and Warriors went together, in charge of shields and arrows, and also the most likely to get left behind because they got sidetracked with booze or people to heckle. 

Sky and Time were tasked with finding the clothes everyone needed. Sky had an uncanny ability to guess their sizes correctly, and the eldest Hero just wanted to hoard as many new pairs of socks as he could, and Sky was the least judgmental. Twilight and Wild were off to find some food. Time knew Wild didn’t really want to come, the city was loud and crowded, but he didn’t trust the others to pick up the right spices that he wanted for future dinners. Twilight had been tasked with trying to keep Wild away from crowds and warding off any especially loud folks that might overwhelm the Cub.

Within the hour, everyone had found what they needed and Time was ready to head back to Lon Lon Ranch. This was his last day with Malon, and the Hero wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. From the glances Twilight kept sending his way, Wild was pretty done with the town as well. 

“Legend and Warriors are still talking with people and I don’t think they’re going to wrap it up soon. We should just go. Cub’s reached his limit for the day.” Twilight reported once they got closer; Sky was distracting Wild with the few patterned socks they’d found. 

“Okay, we’ve got what we needed. Those two are smart enough to know how to get back to the ranch, let’s go.” Time nodded, “Boys, we’re heading back.” 

The walk back wasn’t long by any means, and the rain had lessened to a light drizzle. It was still far enough away that Time could feel disconnected from the usual hubbub of the city. The ranch was the Hero’s little slice of heaven, away from monsters and people alike. He didn’t have to worry about helping anybody with their lost dog or about being stabbed in the back. He felt safe at Lon Lon Ranch, and he certainly hoped the other Heroes felt safe too.

“I wonder where we’re heading next.” Sky mused, walking alongside Wild a few paces ahead of the oldest mentor and his protégé. 

“I’m fine with anything as long as I don’t have to deal with any more rain.” Twilight groaned, “I can only scrape mud so many times off my boots. I think they’re more mud than boot at this point.”

Time chuckled, “You say that, but I bet you’d be begging for more rain after one day in the desert. You couldn’t handle the heat.”

His Pup’s eyes twinkled with mischief, “Oh yeah? Bet. I spent plenty of time in the desert, and I handled it just fine.”

“While you two old ladies argue,” Wild interjected, “I’ll have you know, I’m almost certain that the desert in my Hyrule is hotter than both of yours, and I bet the coldest at night too.” 

The two older Heroes glanced at each other before smirking at the youngest, “Oh yeah?” Twilight asked, “Are you confident enough to bet us a cake? That fruit cake you made last week. We want a whole entire cake to ourselves-“

“And me” Sky chimed in.

“And Sky,” Twilight nodded, “if you’re wrong?”

Wild blinked, before breaking out into a smile and Time knew that his Cub had completely forgotten about the crowded city. 

“You’re on. I will bake you three an entire cake to share, if it turns out that one of you guys has a hotter desert than me. And if I’m right, Time has to go shield surfing instead of being a total bummer. Everyone’s done it besides you.” He looked up at the eldest Hero, “We got Malon and even Talon to do it once. I know you want to try. I bet you’re just too embarrassed you’d mess up in front of us, but the longer you hold off on doing it, the funnier it’ll be when you try and end up eating it.”

Time sighed, “Fine, deal.” He knew he’d get coerced into trying Wild’s horrific hobby eventually; he’d rather risk it if there was a cake involved. 

The walk back to the ranch went by quickly after that. The rain had finally stopped, and the boys took the opportunity to spar with one another while Time used the opportunity to sneak off with Malon for a bit. By the time they poked their heads out of their bedroom, they saw Legend and Warriors had returned as well. Wild was almost done with dinner and everyone else was sat around, packing their things. 

The other Heroes knew Time well. He liked heading off early in the morning if the weather allowed, and didn’t want to waste time packing that morning. Everything should be ready to go so they just had to shoulder their packs and hit the road.

“Old Man, we’re taking bets.” Legend announced, “On where we think we’ll be sent to next. Wind says his Hyrule, Sky says his. Wild, Twi, Four, Warriors, and Hyrule say that new one, and I say Warriors’ so we can finally see what all the fuss is about those ex-girlfriends of his.” 

The Hero got a swat to the back of the head from the captain, but they were all glancing at Time. 

“Wild’s.” Time let slip, meeting eight surprised stares. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. At least he hadn’t spilled the beans about his dream. He wanted to go to Wild’s Hyrule and find that field, go to Hateno and see the supposed house Wild had. He wanted to make sure Wild was doing okay, that there were people who cared for him and had his back, even if they weren’t exactly Hylia’s chosen Heroes. Time also wanted to see if there was anyone in Wild’s Hyrule that could explain why he was potentially seeing memories that belonged to the scarred Hero. 

Time realized the boys were still staring and he’d been staring back. 

“Um, just a ‘Wild’ guess, eh?” He said and felt some relief at the groans his pun elicited. 

Good, they didn’t know.

“Okay, we’re going to bed early. We have a big day tomorrow and we need to get an early start. Who knows where we’ll be dropped? I’d like us to have time to find a good place to set up camp if that place isn’t near civilization.” Time announced, “So finish packing, eat dinner, then bed. No boozy pillow fights,” He sent a look towards Legend and Warriors, “No wandering off into the woods,” Another look towards Hyrule and Wild, “And absolutely no trying to prank anyone.” There was another final stern look sent towards the youngest. 

“We all remember what happened after your poison ivy prank, kiddo.”

There was a collective shiver amongst the group. 

Dinner went off without a hitch and Time got himself packed and into bed earlier than he thought. Sleeping was another matter entirely. He didn’t want to sleep; it would only land him closer to having to say goodbye to Malon again.

Every time he left, he was scared he would never return. Something would happen and he’d lose his life or get stuck in a Hyrule that wasn’t his. He’d never get to see his smiling wife again, kiss her face, or laugh at one of her jokes again. He’d never get to start a family with her. Time knew Malon had the same worries. Not only for him, but for all of the Heroes. He had the same ones.   
They were born only to fight in the wars of others, to save the day and fade into obscurity. They had the weight of worlds upon their shoulders and some of them like Wind and Wild still had a bit of baby fat clinging to their cheeks. What twisted goddess sent children to complete such horrid journeys? 

Time buried his face in his pillow for a moment before glancing towards his sleeping wife.

Saying goodbye felt especially difficult this time around, but Time couldn’t ignore the pull of sleep dragging him into a restless slumber any longer. 

He sincerely wished he’d stayed awake when he woke to the cold sting of water swallowing him up as he was dropped into a body of water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha! A cliffhanger!  
> Where do you think the boys have landed?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was Wild's Hyrule! Because plot! Specifically in the Seres Scablands/Thunder Plateau area!  
> Sky is a chatty person when he's stressed out.   
> I hope you enjoy!

Time felt his head bounce harshly off something cold and wet, stars swirling around in his vision. He was disoriented, it was dark, and worst of all, he was scared. 

Where was Malon? Where were the boys? Where was he?

The Hero didn’t feel particularly heroic as he clambered to his feet. At least he wasn’t in a lake. From what he could see, he was in a swamp, or maybe a bog? It was dark out and from the amount of lightning flashing around him, he was stuck in the middle of a thunderstorm. The water was only up to his knees as he treaded through the dense reeds and grass. 

He was trying to think clearly, he must have just been dropped into a new Hyrule, that meant Malon was safe in bed. Hopefully. But what about the boys? Were they nearby? What if they got dropped into the water and didn’t wake up? What if they hit their head? Sky was a pretty heavy sleeper, and Wild was amazingly accident-prone. Four had a habit of wrapping himself up in a little of cocoon of blankets, what if he couldn’t untangle himself and he drowned? 

“Boys?!” Time hollered, panicking now. Reason went out the window as he looked around, trying to see anything or anybody through the flashes of lightning. He didn’t have anything with him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t see anybody, only the shape of strange, almost mushroom-like trees.

“Pup?! Cub?!” He shouted, calling each Heroes till his voice was hoarse. It didn’t make any difference; he didn’t think his voice could even be heard over the rain and the thunder. No one answered. He raced up a small hill, out of the standing water, looking for any sign of anyone.

Time felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up suddenly, a tingle in the air as he heard a faint hissing noise. Then he was on the ground, ears ringing as he stared at a smoking patch of grass, he’d been standing next to just moments ago. Had he just been struck by lightning? If he hadn’t, it had missed by inches. 

He could only weakly groan and roll onto his side. Time didn’t think he’d been hit, but he’d been bludgeoned enough times by monsters and slipped enough times to know what a mild concussion felt like. At least he wasn’t face down in a puddle. That was the last thought Time could manage before everything faded into a deeper black. 

When Time came to, it was to the worried faces of Sky and Hyrule. 

“Oh, thank the goddess, I thought you’d never wake up.” Sky wheezed, uncharacteristically frazzled. 

“How do you feel?” Hyrule asked, helping Time sit up, supporting him as the world spun.

“Like I passed out on the ground, in the middle of a thunderstorm.” Time retorted sourly, rubbing his good eye. It was blindingly bright out, the sky shining such a vibrant blue, he would have never guessed it had been raining cats and dogs last night. 

Oh right. New Hyrule. Everything still felt a little bit off to the eldest Hero. 

“Did you two find anybody else?” he asked, only to get shaken heads as an answer. 

“No,” Sky said, “We’ve been looking all morning. We were both dropped close to a stable. That’s what the people there called it. Tabantha Stable?” 

Sky looked towards Hyrule for confirmation on the name before he continued, offering some water to Time, who gladly took it.

“We found each other because we both went there. We stayed the night inside it since it was raining so much. We asked the people there if they knew anybody named Link, and from the description, we both think it’s Wild. This is Wild’s Hyrule. I think. Unless there’s a new scarred Hero we don’t know about, but we found this glowing thing they called a shrine, and Wild always talked about those.” The Chosen Hero was rambling at such a fast pace, Time had to place a hand on his shoulder.

“Calm down.” Time said firmly, “You’re okay, and we’re okay. We’re all capable men and boys. Wherever the others are, I’m sure they’re doing alright. We all have traveled Hyrule, we know how to take care of ourselves.” 

That seemed to calm down Sky a bit, and even Hyrule’s shoulder held a little less tension. Time stood up, glad to see that although everything felt achy from sleeping on a cold, wet ground, he wasn’t seriously injured or anything. He felt even better once he’d looked over the two boys in front of him. Other than a few scratches and bruises here and there, and the ungodly mess Hyrule’s hair was, they seemed fine as well. 

“There’s a road near here.” Hyrule spoke up as Time looked around for his things, “It leads back to the stable. We were going to look around here today and then head back. There’s a really big bridge. I was thinking of heading over there tomorrow. Apparently, there’s Rito Village up that way, the people at the stable said so. Wild’s mentioned it a few times. I thought maybe someone could have landed near there. And if not, maybe we could ask a few of the people there to help us look.”

Time blinked, a little surprised. He’d forgotten that Hyrule and Wild were as thick as thieves. Ignoring that hundred-year gap, they were the closest in age out of anyone in the group. Added with their similar traveling stories and penchant for finding trouble, it was no wonder they were best friends. Of course Wild had told Hyrule the most about this place.

“Good thinking,” He nodded, “We’ll look around here and head back to the stable for the night before heading out to Rito Village in the morning. Or start out, heading there. Wild’s always said his Hyrule is big. It could take days.” 

When the boys nodded in agreement, Time sighed. It really was a bog, he’d landed in. Those trees did look like giant mushrooms, too. It hadn’t just been his panic-fueled imagination. He was covered in mud, and he wanted to find some clean water he could wash off in before he trekked up to a stable. With his luck, he’d get stabbed by the locals, thinking he was some sort of mud monster. 

“Alright, help me look for my stuff, please. Unlike you two, who already found your things apparently, I don’t even have my shoes yet.” 

They had learned after the first few dimension shifts, that all of their things came with them, but they had a habit of being tossed nearby instead of neatly placed where they had been previously, in proximity to the Hero they belonged to. 

It took longer than Time would like to admit, to find all of his things, the last being his left boot. It took some more time to find water that was clean enough that he could wash off the mud without smearing more mud on himself. 

Unfortunately, it gave Time plenty of time to think about everything. 

He didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Malon. No goodbye hugs or kisses, not even a word to his wife. It didn’t settle right with him. What if he died? He’d do it gladly, to protect any of the other Heroes, but that certainly didn’t mean he wanted it to happen. He wanted to go back home. 

Time also didn’t like how suddenly they had been shifted, or how disorganized it had been. This was the first, and hopefully the last time they had been separated during a shift. He could only hope the other Heroes were okay. They were smart and resourceful, but there was still only so much someone could do if suddenly dropped in a volcano or in the middle of an ocean, while they were dead asleep. 

Eventually, they headed back to the road and to the stable, hollering all the while for the others. It was a pleasant surprise when they heard a familiar yell. 

“Come and get some, you ugly freak!”

“Is that Warriors?” Hyrule asked, and he took off, closely followed by the other two. 

Lo and behold, was the Hero in question, finishing off a small group of bokoblins who’d apparently been chasing a young woman. From the cherry red of the poor thing’s face, he could only imagine through what rose-colored glasses, she was watching the knight. Maybe it was the shining armor, maybe it was because she hadn’t seen how affectionate and weirdly motherly, he got when he was drunk. 

“War!” Sky yelled out, waving at the Hero as Warriors sheathed his sword, turning to look. 

“Hey!” The knight smiled, turning again to help the woman up, making sure she was okay before heading over to the group. From the disappointed look she sent Warriors, she had been expecting more. 

“Where have you been?” He asked the three, “I woke up in a tree, for a second I thought I was you,” he nudged Hyrule’s shoulder. 

Hyrule quickly filled him in, and soon they were continuing on towards the stable. The hours really had a way of flying by when you spent most of them fishing dirty armor out of a swamp. At least they’d found everything, and nothing was broken. Dirty, certainly, but not broken.

The stable had the same sort of quiet, homespun charm that Wild carried. It was lively, and the people were friendly and easy-going as long as you were kind. Time did dearly miss their cook. Between the four of them and their limited supplies of food, they managed to make a semi-edible stew while discussing their plan more thoroughly. 

One of the stable hands, had given them a map of the surrounding area, and it looked like a straight path to the village. It would take two days to reach, but it wasn’t like the Heroes weren’t used to making camp and spending the night outside. 

“I hope everyone else is okay.” Sky mused, snapping Time out of his thoughts. 

The eldest Hero’s first instinct was to tell him not to worry, that they’d be fine, but he had to remember that these boys weren’t naïve. Blind comfort had worked earlier, but that was because everyone was panicking. He couldn’t blindly lie to their face that everything would be fine, not now. These boys knew firsthand, how cruel the world could be. 

“I hope so too.” Time replied softly, looking into the fire in front of them. “They’re smart, they have good survival skills; they have a better chance than most. Especially if they found each other like we did.” 

Dinner was a solemn affair. Time missed Wind’s easygoing attitude, and Legend’s snarky comments. He missed Four reining in the others when they got too rowdy, Wild and Hyrule goading each other on while Twilight would simply watch, a simple smile on his face. He also missed his wife dearly, but he knew she was safe back at the ranch. 

After the food was stomached, they paid for their beds, smelling softly of hay and fresh milk as Time buried his face in the pillow. He dearly hoped his boys would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that stone talus on the way to Rito Village? I think the boys will have fun with that. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is called 'Local Dad is a big dumb-dumb, and also nearly loses a child.'  
> Also, I used the Zeldapedia theory that only kids and those with Hylia's blessing can see the dragons, please don't be mad.

Time woke before the others, used to keeping their resident early riser company. He wondered where Wild was now. He’d asked around the stable, and like Sky had said, the description they gave of Link was the spitting image of Wild. The shrine, as the locals called it, had the same sort of glowing markings the Hero’s Sheikah Slate bore. 

He’d laid in his bed, thinking things over before rising and heading outside to watch the sunrise. Munching on a handful of wildberries, he yearned for Wild’s cooking, and headed towards the bridge. It was huge, and as dilapidated as it was, he could still picture how magnificent it must have looked one hundred years ago. People bustling over it, travelers and merchants, goading horses and pack mules across. It must have been beautiful. 

Time glanced up towards the north and promptly choked on his breakfast. 

Was that a dragon? 

He didn’t think, running back towards his things to draw out his sword. Time was noisy enough in his endeavors, that he woke the others, and within seconds, all four of the Heroes were running out with weapons in hand, bedhead and wrinkled clothes throughout. 

“Is that a dragon?” Warriors asked in disbelief, clutching his sword tighter, “That’s the biggest thing, I think I’ve ever seen.” 

“Why is no one else freaking out over this?” Hyrule asked, and Time realized that he was right. No one else in the stable seemed to notice the enormous creature heading towards them from the canyon. Most of them hadn’t awoken, but the locals that were awake were looking at the four newcomers oddly. 

“Grown-ups can’t see him.” A small voice announced behind them and Time looked down to see one of the children who lived at the stable. Sho, if he remembered correctly. A quiet, bug-loving boy, who was currently looking up at Time expectantly. 

“Grown-ups can’t see him.” Sho repeated, “Mister Dragon, I mean. Except Link, but he’s not a real grown-up. So, why can you see him?”

“We’re Link’s …family.” Time said and didn’t stop to dwell on how nicely the words rolled off his tongue. He was a little more occupied with that fact there was the biggest dragon he’d ever seen, coming closer. The other Heroes seemed rather concerned about that fact too. 

“Is Mister Dragon friendly?” Sky asked the child and Sho turned his gaze to the Hero. He’d offered the kid a beetle yesterday and was officially in the plucky youngster’s good graces ever since.   
“Yeah. He won’t hurt anybody. Unless you touch him, his scales burn you. Link said so, he said not to try it. Mister Dragon flies by every morning.” Sho announced, and hesitantly, the Heroes put away their swords. 

Hyrule was the one to move first, running towards the bridge as the beast drew closer. 

“I want to see him pass under the bridge!” He called back, ignoring the adults in the stable looking at them like they were crazy. 

Time could only imagine what was going on through their minds. First the children talking about dragons, and now these weird people claiming to be Link’s family. Then again, he knew how odd Wild could be. 

“Thank you, Sho.” Sky smiled and then he and Warriors took off after Hyrule, wanting to see the dragon up close too. Time sighed and followed suit. He did want to see this dragon. 

When he had to fight Volvagia, he didn’t get to see much more than flashing scales as he ducked and weaved away from the flames the creature spouted. This being seemed far less erratic, and as he drew close, Time felt the same sort of benevolent aura the Deku Tree had given off. It was slightly off, a bit more... wild, but it seemed like everything in this Hyrule was. 

He watched in wonder as the dragon moved under the bridge, its long, sleek body shining brightly against the morning sun. The wind picked up greatly, and he had to hold his shirt down so it wouldn’t fly up over his head to block his view. Time saw a few flames shoot out around its head, but it really seemed to have no ill-intention towards them. They watched in awe as the dragon meandered through the canyon and disappeared up into the sky.

“That is so cool...” Hyrule mumbled, and Time had to agree. 

The rest of the morning was far less eventful. Even when Warriors pointed out the giant bird machine in the distance. How any of them had missed that, Time didn’t know. From the looks of it, the thing was bigger than the entire ranch. 

The locals weren’t too helpful. They said it was flying around, back with the Calamity still infested the world, and then one day, it landed up there and that was it. He hoped the Rito would be more help. 

As the boys ate their breakfast of apples and only apples, packed their bags again, and headed across the bridge, this time for good, Time tried to recall what the Rito were.   
Wind had said they were people with beaks and bird-like appendages. Wild had said they were giant talking birds. 

Time hoped Wild was right, he really wanted to see a giant talking bird. 

Shortly after they crossed the bridge, which took a while to begin with anyway, they came across their next obstacle. It wasn’t much of an obstacle as a horrifying discovery. 

“Oh, those are guardians. Wild told me about them and showed me a picture.” Sky said, walking towards one with a fascinated Hyrule close on his tail.

Time had frozen where he ‘d first seen them. They weren’t moving, and they didn’t have those freakish spider legs, but those were the same machines he had seen in his dream.   
These were obviously dead ones, a propeller blown off here and there on the two he saw, a few slashes and gashes against its hull, and the small crater underneath it told him it had fallen a great height. 

Still, Time thought it was terrifying to look at. 

“Doing alright, Old Man?” Warriors asked, coming up behind Time to give him a hearty pat on the shoulder. 

It stirred the eldest into snapping out of it, and he walked alongside the young man to catch up with the other two. 

“Yeah, fine.” He said dismissively, “I just didn’t know what I was looking at. It’s not every day that you see a flying death machine. Or a death machine that could have flown before someone took out those propellers.”

It was a spur of the moment lie, but either Warriors bought it, or he was feeling kind today and didn’t call it out. 

“Hm, yeah. I don’t think I would want to fight one of those things. I don’t have Wild’s aim with a bow.” Warriors shrugged. 

Now that Time had seen the guardians, he didn’t feel any better and he didn’t think he’d be getting much sleep in the coming night. Warriors had gone to investigate the giant tower and the eldest Hero had followed Sky along a path that ended up leading him to another one of those shrines. He didn’t know where Hyrule had wandered off to, but he knew the kid was smart enough to keep out of any serious danger. 

Time tried to help look for the others, occasionally calling out their names, but he couldn’t focus. He had too many questions and no answers. The dream was real, but now he wanted to know why. Why had he dreamed it? Why one of Wild’s memories? Why not one of Twilight’s bad memories? The Pup was his actual descendent; Wild was just another one of the Heroes.

After their search yielded nothing, the four Heroes decided to continue on down the road. It really was a pretty Hyrule, towering mountains and dazzling valleys. Everywhere he looked, Time could see a thriving ecosystem. Wildlife was easy to find, all healthy and bright-eyed, the fauna plentiful. Time liked it more than the bustling hubbub of his own Hyrule, in a way. It was peaceful and gave him plenty of time to think. No need to pull a façade for a merchant, or an upset villager. He could see while Wild liked his Hyrule so much. 

At least he did until the rock they were climbing over, moved. 

It shook violently and he barely had time to tell the others to get back before he was thrown. It was only a few feet away, and he stared, wide-eyed as the rock loomed over him. It seemed humanoid in shape, the absolutely massive rock as a sort of upper torso, where another far smaller rock served as a sort of lower half. Below that, were tiny boulders acted as legs. They were tiny in comparison; Time knew well enough that boulders that size could still kill a man easily. Its arms were terrifying rocks, big enough to crush all four of them. 

Time managed to scramble away before it brought down one of those giant fists where he had been laying. 

“What is that thing?” Warriors yelled, sword already drawn.

“Oh, that’s just Steve- It’s a giant rock monster, War! What did you think it was? Hyrule shouted back. Maybe he’d been spending too much around Legend. 

“Okay, first off, shut up. How are we supposed to kill a rock?” Warriors replied.

The creature was circling, trying to catch one of the Heroes in front of it, but they had enough sense to run behind it, moving with it. 

Time had to agree with Warriors, how were they supposed to defeat a giant rock? Wild hadn’t told him about any monsters like this and it was clear none of the others had fought something like this before. 

“Look for a weak spot!” He yelled out and the other did just that. Anything squishy like a heart or different. All they were seeing was the strange cluster of stone high up on back. But it was still stone, it seemed like a far stretch that their swords would do any damage. 

Hyrule got caught in front of it and narrowly missed and entire one of its fists crushing his body. It threw its arms at people, great. The youngest in their current group still came away with a nasty looking cut on his arm from when the boulder whizzed by, jagged stone tearing past flesh. 

“It’s that black cluster of rocks, it has to be.” Time said, ducking the next thrown arm. The monster seemed to collapse, but he could see it pulling a new set of arms from the ground. 

Sky had seen it too and took the opportunity to clamber onto its back, hacking away at the cluster. It sounded unpleasant, sword clanging against stone, but the Hero of the Sky clung to it as it stood again. The other Heroes tried to keep its attention so he could keep trying to destroy it. 

Finally, the cluster broke off of its back. Time didn’t get to feel relief as the thing shuddered and collapsed suddenly, sending Sky over the side of the cliff. 

“Sky!” Hyrule yelled and they rushed forward, breath held. 

Time got there first and spotted the Hero nearly twenty feet down on a ledge. 

“Sky hang on. I’m coming down, don’t move.” He said, immediately heading down. He certainly didn’t have Wild’s knack for scaling any vertical surface, but the eldest Hero had climbed a bit back in his day. 

Once he reached the ledge, he crouched down next to Sky. The Hero’s head was bleeding, and his foot was facing the wrong way. He seemed awfully pale and Time grit his teeth. “Okay..okay, we can fix this.” It hurt him to see any of the Heroes in pain, by Sky always wore a smile, the sweet ray of optimism amongst the group. 

He certainly wasn’t smiling now, just lying there, grimacing in pain. 

“Do either of you have a potion? Anything?” Time asked desperately, looking up at the other two. They looked but shook their heads. 

“No, we don’t have anything, everything we had, broke during the shift.” Warriors called down, looking stony-faced. 

They did have some rope however, and Time got Sky carefully lifted back up to more solid ground. He was in bad shape and Time didn’t know what to do. None of them had anything and he was the one in charge. He was supposed to make sure nothing like this happened. 

Hyrule suddenly gasped, “Wait, I know what to do! I saw fairies earlier, and I followed them. There’s a fairy fountain near here, a Great Fairy, she can fix him, right?”

“What? Where?” Time asked, hoisting Sky up in his arms, “Let’s go, we don’t have time to waste.”

He shushed Sky’s weak attempts at asking what a fairy fountain was. 

“You’ll find out soon enough, bud. Save your energy.” Time said softly, following Hyrule back down the road. He didn’t care what it took to save Sky, the teen was bleeding out in his arms and Time could only think of all the times Sky had waxed poetic about his Zelda, and how Sky still had yet to return to his own Hyrule after all this time. 

Hyrule led them to a cap in the rocks back by the fallen guardians and Time could barely believe it when he saw it. A Great Fairy Fountain. He rushed forward and the being who came out was not what he was expecting. Apparently, four scraped up young men weren’t what she was expecting either. 

“Oh!” She cried, startled, “You’re not that lovely boy, what- “ 

“Help him!” Time cut her off, “Please, he’s bleeding out, help him! Heal him! I can’t lose him!” 

The Fairy looked down at Sky, cradled carefully in Time’s arms, and clucked her tongue. 

“Ah, I haven’t healed anybody in centuries but... I suppose I could give it a whirl. Especially for such a sweet-looking boy, it really would be a shame to let him die like this.”

The Fairy leaned down and kissed her finger, placing it against Sky’s forehead. Time watched, amazed as the gash closed and the Hero’s pallor rose back to a normal flush hue. When he looked down, the foot was turned back in the right angle. The eldest Hero rocked him slightly, relief finally flooding his chest. He had been so scared. 

“Ow.” That got Time to stop cradling the other Hero so much. Sky looked sleepy, but anybody would be exhausted after having their wounds healed like that. “We got rid of that rock monster, right?”

“Yeah, we did.” Warriors piped up from over Time’s shoulder, looking shaken up by the whole ordeal. “Or should I say you, you did all the work.”

Sky hummed, shutting his eyes, “I was the closest, that’s all. I know you guys would have done the same if you were closer.”

They all talked briefly, Hyrule got his arm healed up as well as all of their odd scrapes and bruises from yesterday. 

“Okay, I know it’s only lunch, but I think we’re going to call it a day.” Time announced, “You boys need rest.” 

He glanced down to see Sky already asleep; he was still holding him, paranoid that the poor teen would fall apart if he let go. By how heavily Hyrule was resting his head on Warriors’ shoulder, he was feeling the effects of the healing as well.

“Sounds like a plan,” Warriors nodded, “I think that was enough excitement for today.”

The Great Fairy had retired back into her fountain and the older two got bed rolls set out and the other two tucked in. Even when Sky woke up, Time didn’t allow him to wander for the rest of the day. Who knew where another one of those giant rock monsters would be? A talus. The Great Fairy had filled them in on that much, earlier. Apparently, they dotted Wild’s Hyrule. Time hated them. 

The rest of the day was spent lazily, though Time couldn’t quite relax. He let Warriors and Hyrule wander a bit more, but most of their time was spent near the others, just talking. It was nothing of importance, what their favorite meal was, the most annoying person they had to deal with on their adventures, just things to fill the silence. 

That night, Time didn’t sleep. He couldn’t. He’d nearly lost one of the others, and he didn’t know how he could have prevented it, nor how he’d prevent it happening again in the future. How many more enemies lay in the Hyrule, that he didn’t know how to handle? 

For the first time in a long time, Time found himself praying to Hylia. Please keep his boys safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm bad at writing action and also multiple characters at once, I apologize. The next chapter gets to be fluffy, though!  
> Teba is #1 Bird Dad to Wild, sorry Time.
> 
> Also Sky nearly dying was inspired by the fact EVERY time I fight that Tabantha Frontier Talus, I get tossed off the cliff. >:(


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter, I'm sorry for the delay!  
> I had a really big microbio project due and was focusing on that.

Lizalfos really sucked. 

There were so many lizalfos on the road, and Time hated every single one of them. They weren’t difficult to defeat, just painfully time-consuming. The monsters in Wild’s Hyrule felt almost playful, in a way; they seemed to enjoy terrorizing travelers, drawing it out a bit before they tossed whatever unlucky traveler they found, into a stew.

Time found the same quality in Wild when it came to dealing with groups of bokoblins. Maybe everything in this Hyrule was sadistic.

Unfortunately for every lizalfos they encountered so far, these young men weren’t exactly travelers, and they certainly weren’t willing to play games. The stable’s residents had told them that the road to Rito Village was a long one. They just didn’t have the time to spare. 

It didn’t mean the left any of the beasts alive, of course. It just meant they had to send Hyrule and Warriors to scout ahead and dispatch whatever they encountered, Time and Sky taking up the rear. 

The last night had been difficult for all of them. Time hadn’t slept at all, up and alert, waiting for something to pop out at them. He was too paranoid, mind racing with speculations. If there were stone taluses in Wild’s Hyrule, what other sort of new and terrifying monsters lay in wait for them? They had barely scraped by; would they be so lucky next time? Time knew he wasn’t prepared to bury any of these boys. Not these three, and certainly not the others. 

Sky hadn’t had a much better night. He’d get an hour of sleep in before waking with a start, breath fast and fear painted across his face. Time would calm him down, lend him an ear if the other felt up to talking, but it broke the elder’s heart to watch. 

On the third occasion, Time pulled the other close to his side, an arm wrapped protectively around the boy. He was safe, and if anything tried to lay a finger on the young man, whether it be giant rock monster or a bokoblin, they’d have to go through the Hero of Time. The words went unsaid, but Sky slept soundly after that. 

Throughout the night, the others joined them. Hyrule took up residence on Time’s other side, snuggled up under the oldest Hero’s arm and snoring softly. Warriors uncharacteristically quiet, used the eldest as a backrest. Back-to-back, the two oldest Heroes kept a silent vigil the rest of the night. 

In the soft, glowing light near the Great Fairy Fountain, Time felt a little better. He hoped the others were faring well in this scary new place. 

They had a late start to begin with, a desperate attempt to get as much rest as they could. They tried to cook breakfast, and it was the fanciest thing all four of them could come up with. Slightly burnt scrambled eggs. Hyrule had found some bird eggs and they had eaten breakfast, trying not to think about the delicious omelets Wild could have made if he were here. 

“No offense to you guys, but I am so jealous of whoever Wild’s traveling with.” Hyrule said, forlorn. 

“None taken, I dreamt of the banana bread he made, last night.” Sky sighed, “I bet whoever he’s with is eating like a king.” 

“For all we know, he could still be by himself.” Warriors interjected, picking at a particularly burnt piece of his breakfast, “We don’t know if the other’s landed close to one another like we did. He could be out there, only having to cook for himself. He had almost all of our food, too.”

The captain scowled, “I’d kill someone for a cinnamon roll right now...”

The other Heroes agreed and ate their breakfast in companionable silence. They all knew the plan: continue down the road and try to reach Rito Village before dark. 

Once they actually gotten back on the dirt road, Sky was still walking a bit tenderly from the prior day’s festivities. Even with a big dose of fairy magic, nobody felt too great having their foot twisted an entire one hundred and eighty degrees. Time was a bit surprised to even see Sky awake, and had been keeping a close eye on him all day. Just to make sure the other was doing alright.   
“We’re close.” Warriors announced, Hyrule in tow as they walked towards Time and Sky. 

They’d been walking for hours, hot and tired in the scorching sun. There had been barely any cover from the scorching fireball in the sky, and Time was fairly certain he was as red as a crab. Warriors definitely was. 

“Just a few more miles. We should get there within the hour. There’s another stable, but Rito Village is right there. I think.” Warriors continued, “We didn’t actually approach it, as soon as we saw how close it was, we headed back here.”

“That giant bird machine is sick, up close.” Hyrule smiled. “I bet Wild knows a way to get to it. I hope once we find him, he’ll show us.” 

Warriors rolled his eyes, “No thanks, knowing our luck, it’s sentient. I don’t want to be eaten by a bird machine just because you think it looks cool.” 

Time ignored the tongue Hyrule stuck out at Warriors, or the gesture the captain sent towards the traveler. 

“Alright, then let’s go. Thanks for scouting ahead.” He said, cutting them both off and picking up the pace. He was restless. Was one of the others there? Were they okay? Were they hurt? Were they getting enough to eat? Were they staying warm? 

Time heard the other’s keep pace with him, all four of them getting more excited to finally reach their destination. It was nearly supper time, and they were sick of walking for the day. Their feet hurt and they were running on little sleep and barely any food. 

The village was a welcome sight. Time saw it after passing through an overpass. Built on a giant spire of rock, he could see the bridges and wooden homes wounding around it. 

“That bird is sick...” Time whispered to himself, mirroring Hyrule’s sentiment. The enormous machine looked even bigger up close, and the eldest felt the urge to ride it through the skies. Goddesses…he really hoped Wild could somehow control that thing and he’d be willing to give them a ride. 

Time was even happier when he finally saw one of the Rito. They were giant birds! Birds with wings and beaks and claws instead of feet! The guard patrolling the bridge was friendly, just a bit taller than Time, and mentioned a few places they should visit during their stay to the village. The inn sounded the most promising. 

The Heroes hurried up the path. Warriors pointedly avoided looking over the edge while Sky had to be dragged away from it, too excited to see the drop. 

As they reached the entrance to the village, a cozy and quaint little thing, they began to run when they heard a familiar voice. 

“Oh my goddesses, is that you guys?!”

Hyrule blinked, “Is that Wind?”

Upon racing to the small blonde figure, and sweeping him off his feet, in Warriors’ case, they found it was in fact, Wind. 

They made sure he was fine. Had he been hurt? No, besides a scrape on his knee. Had he been getting enough food and water? Yes, a nice green bird lady had been cooking up food for him along with her daughters. Had he been warm enough up in this high altitude? Yes, he was staying at the inn and they had the warmest, most soft beds Wind had every slept in. 

“Have you seen anybody else?” Sky asked finally.

They had moved over to a small hut with a cooking pot after being introduced to a very nice Rito woman named Amali. Her five little daughters were absolutely adorable, and as soon as they mentioned that they were Wild’s family, they were bouncing around, full of questions. 

After cooking dinner for everybody, Amali had shooed the girls off to bed and retired herself, giving the Heroes an opportunity to talk without intrusion. 

Wind bit his lip and stared at the soup in his lap. “Yeah, but I’m kind of worried.”

“What do you mean?” Hyrule asked, “Who’d you see, where are they?”

“It was Wild, yesterday, around like... noon. He said he was with Twi.” Wind answered, “They landed in the mountains, and he said he got Twi to a cabin, but his Sheikah Slate was acting funny and wasn’t working. He seemed really upset about it. He came here to get some winter clothes for Twilight. Apparently, it’s really cold up there in the mountains, and only those Snowquill clothes they sell in that clothes shop will keep you warm enough. But Twi was safe and warm in the cabin, he just needed to get Twi the right clothes so they could make it back here.” 

Wind frowned a little as he continued, “So he walked all the way over here from the cabin to get Twi the clothes and headed back. I wanted to come with him, but he said I should stay here in case anybody comes here. I guess he was right, because now you guys are here. But now it’s been a day and he isn’t back. I’m worried.”

Time was nearly heading out right then and there. 

“Where is it? Where’s the cabin?” He asked, standing up. 

“Over there.” Wind stood up as well and pointed to the snow-covered mountains. There was a small plume of smoke and Time could just make out the roof of a cabin. He could also see the telltale blue glow of a shrine to the west. 

“Wild showed me it. There’s a place called the Flight Range by the shrine. He was hoping his friend, Teba would be there, but he said something about him and a guy named Kass- that’s Amali’s husband- were off on a trip to Zora Domain to try and open trade negotiations with the people. I don’t know, Wild was mumbling a lot.” Wind frowned, “I really hope they’re okay.”

“I’m sure they are.” Warriors said firmly, “They’re smart, and that plume of smoke means that someone is in there, keeping the fire going. It’s dangerous to go out at night, so let’s just wait till morning, and then we can head out.”

That last bit was pointed at Time, he knew. He wanted to head out now, his Pup and Cub were out there, maybe hurt or freezing to death. 

Warriors was right though. It was dangerous to travel at night, especially in a place that was apparently deathly cold. The smartest option was to wait till daybreak, and head out as a group.   
“We should get our clothes now,” The eldest replied, “Before the store closes for the night. That way we can get an early start tomorrow.”

Wind furrowed his nose, “Aw man, I was getting used to sleeping in…” 

They finished their dinner and washed up before heading down to the store. Snowquill clothes were… expensive. Especially when outfitting five individuals. Time hoped they were worth the money.

The Heroes spent a few more hours recounting tales of their past few days. Hyrule told Wind about the dragon and their attempts at cooking. Wind told them about the stories the villagers had about Wild, how this Teba fellow apparently had jokingly been named the rambunctious Hero’s adoptive father. 

Time added meeting the bird-man to his list of things he had to do. 

Sky told Wind about nearly dying at the hands of a talus, and Wind in turn told them about how he landed in the water below the village and eventually got scooped up by Amali, who had spotted him while fishing for salmon. 

Time added properly thanking Amali for saving their youngest Hero’s life, to his list. 

Soon, the yawns set in and Warriors and Time herded the others down to the inn. Rito-down beds really were the softest thing Time had ever laid in. he contemplated if he could collect enough feathers, he could make his bed at Lon-Lon Ranch out of it. Malon would certainly appreciate it. 

As he heard the others’ breathing even out, Time couldn’t find sleep. He couldn’t get his mind off of his Pup and his Cub. They were out there, possibly hurt, possibly sick or dying. Or dead. 

The Hero couldn’t take it. Silently, he got out of bed and gathered his things, tiptoeing out of the inn and back onto the road without a word to the others. He couldn’t wait till morning to head out. 

By morning, it might be too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! What could possibly be the issue with Wild and Twi? :o


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry guys, Time's basically an Arnold Schwarzenegger when it comes to getting to his kids to protect them. Though maybe he needs a lesson or two on self-preservation.

Time had walked at an almost manic pace across the bridges, asking the travelers at the stable which path took him to the Flight Range Wind had pointed out to him. 

“Lookin’ to climb the mountains, eh? That Flight Range is like a playground for those bird folks, fella.” A cheerful and ruddy-looking man laughed, “I don’t know what you expect to do there. Besides, a lot of people try to climb those mountains and never come back, except that kid.”

Time would usually be endeared to the man’s care-free attitude, maybe even enough to share a drink with him and spend the night recounting adventures with him. However, the eldest Hero was on a mission and the man wasn’t getting to the point. Lives were at stake for two boys Time was rather attached to. 

“What path takes me to the Flight Range?” Time gritted out again, yanking the man close by the collar until he could see the hazel flecks in his eyes. And the fear. 

He almost felt bad. 

“I have boys to check on, and I’m not in the mood to have you waste my time when they could be freezing to death.”

“South.” The man mumbled, eyes wide, “East. The- The southeast path.” He pointed frantically. “Are you sure you have the proper gear? Do those boys of yours have the proper gear?” 

“I’ve got the snowquill clothes, yes, and so do they. I hope it’s enough.” Time said. He paused for a moment, letting go of the man’s shirt and brushing himself off. “Sorry. Thanks.” 

With that, Time was walking down the path pointed out to him. As much as he wanted to run, he didn’t know how long the journey would be. There was also the cold to be wary off. The experienced adventurer knew it would get cold, probably bitterly so, before he reached the cabin. Warm clothes would help, but they’d be useless if he pulled them on while he was covered in sweat. The best he could do was a brisk walk. 

Nothing was going to stop Time. Not the enormous hinox he encountered, not the octoroks, not the stalfos, not even the absurd number of wolves roaming the roads. 

He’d punched a wolf, right in the face. 

It wasn’t his fault, they were getting to close, trying to nip at his heels and take a chunk out of his side. Thanks to Twilight, Time couldn’t ever kill one without it plaguing his conscious. He’d certainly bop one in the nose, though. 

As much as he wasn’t letting anything stop him, they had slowed him down, certainly. Knees scraped, nose bloodied, he was pretty sure he had a few broken ribs from the hinox swatting him. He felt absolutely awful, but he had two working legs and as far as he knew, no internal bleeding. It meant he could still try to reach his boys. The working arms were just a bonus. 

He’d keep trying to reach those boys or die trying.

The air was chilly as he walked along, the night air sapping the remnants of warmth from his fingers. It wasn’t until he hit the snow that he caved and pulled on the Rito clothes. Suddenly, his borderline-numb toes were toasty, and so was everything else. 

The grown man hummed happily, burying his face in the scarf around his neck with the childish glee of someone twenty years younger. It was so warm, he loved it. 

As nice and soft as the clothes were, it didn’t distract him from the task at hand, for more than a few seconds. 

Time didn’t spot the cabin till well into the morning, a blizzard tearing through the area. He could barely hear a thing above the howl of the wind, but the Hero distinctly picked up a voice. 

“Wild?! Wild, where are you?!” 

Well, there was Twilight. 

“Pup!” Time replied, clapping his protégé on the shoulder, “Where’s Wild?” 

Twilight was looking distraught and his reply was lost in the wind. 

“What?” Time asked, “Twilight, let’s head into the cabin! You can tell me what’s going on when we don’t have to shout!” 

The younger Hero didn’t look happy, but he grabbed onto Time’s sleeve and led him into the cabin. It looked cozy, thick fur rugs littering the floor and a roaring fire crackling in the fireplace while warming the entire building. It was well taken care of, though the single bed was messy. Neither Twilight nor Wild made their bed. Ever. At least they were predictable. 

“Twilight, what’s going on? Where’s Wild?” Time asked. 

Twilight was pacing, looking feral and uncomfortable indoors, eyes wild. 

“He’s gone.” He said, “And what’s worse, he’s sick. We were going to head to Rito Village yesterday, but he woke up sick. I kept him inside all day, and he was beginning to get better, but when I woke up this morning, he was gone. He left a note saying he was going to get breakfast, but I’ve waited an hour, to give him time because he said I was hovering too much. I had the time to come up with a whole lecture to give him, but now he’s not back and I’m really worried.” 

Twilight would be wearing a hole in the floor at this rate, with the way he was pacing. Like a trapped animal. 

“I was just about to go out looking for him when you showed up. We need to go out there and find him. I was on the fence about letting him walk to Rito Village with his cold, and I’d be right next to him. And he goes out up the mountains all by himself!”

Time wished he’d been faster. An hour faster, and he would have been able to catch the reckless boy sneaking out. 

“Okay, okay, we’ll find him. It’ll be okay, Pup.” Time said, hands fluttering over the young man, looking for any wounds, any tears in the warm, protective clothing, “How about you? How are you doing? Are you hurt? Did you get sick too?”

“No… no I’m fine.” Twilight took a moment to look himself over, “I think he got sick back in your Hyrule. That walk in the rain? You know how he hides it when he doesn’t feel well, and he walked all the way to Rito Village and back which just exacerbated it.”

The Heroes sighed softly. Wild could be a real pain sometimes, but they saw their past mistakes in his actions. They couldn’t blame him, because they had done the exact same things he’d done, time and time again. At least Wild had the common sense to usually learn the first or second time. 

They hadn’t.

“Okay, let’s go.” Time said, retying one of his boots before heading out of the cabin. 

“What do you have for medical supplies, any potions? Bandages?” He asked his protégé. 

“One potion and some bandages, yeah. No fairy potions. Cub’s Sheikah Slate has been acting up, the only thing that’s working is the inventory. He says he knows somebody that might be able to fix it, but you know…we have bigger issues right now.” Twilight responded, tossing a few more logs into the fire to keep it going before he followed Time out the door.

“Where do you think he went?” Time asked, trying to shield his eyes from the biting wind. At least the clothes he’d bought were keeping him warm. He knew everything had its limits though, and he didn’t know how long Wild had already been outside. What if he got too cold?

“Up there. Into the mountains.” Twilight pointed up the two sets of ladders leading up towards the snow-covered peaks. “I’m guessing anyway, his note said he was getting breakfast and he’s complained about how there’s nothing to cook around here.” 

“Alright, then up there we go.” Time said. 

The snow was even deeper up here, and the Eldest Hero was sinking up to his knees with every step. As warm as the snowquill boots and trousers were, they did nothing to help him stomp through the snow. Progress was slow, but they were both too anxious for much discussion. 

“What’s with the cabin and the giant flag posts?” He finally asked Twilight, making sure his Pup was nearby at all times. One lost kid was scary enough, he couldn’t deal with two. 

“Wild said there’s some shield-surfing champ who built it all. She was a hot shot and when she retired up in the mountains, she built the cabin and those flag markers to try and help other adventure-seekers climbing the mountains.” Twilight muttered, looking around for any sign of his Cub. Any footprints, anything at all. 

“There’s a journal of hers back at the cabin. Once we find Wild and get back there, you can take a look.” 

The farther they got up, the more difficult it became to see with more snow blowing in their faces. Time could have only imagined how frustrated Wild must have been. No map since his Sheikah Slate wasn’t working properly. There wasn’t much of a path, it would have been easy for the boy to get turned around.

It felt like an hour had passed before they reached a fork in the road, another flag in between them. They ended up sneaking up to kill a small group of lizalfos and a moblin when Twilight spotted them. Wolfie was of no help, it was too cold for his paws and the wind was too strong. He couldn’t get a scent on Wild, so Twilight had to stay bipedal. 

“Should we split up?” He asked Time, pointing towards the two forks. One was a much wider path and the other steeper and narrower. 

“No.” Time replied easily, “We need to stay together in this blizzard.”

They went with the wider path on the right, and another hour later, they stood at the edge of a cliff. Still no Wild, though they slaughtered another lizalfos. The Heroes were looking in every nook and cranny as they walked, but a cliff? Wild was the best at climbing but Time would like to think he had more common sense than to climb down a cliff in the middle of a blizzard. 

“There’s nothing at the bottom.” He announced, relief ebbing into his tone. No little body crumpled a heap at the foot of the cliff. 

“I can’t see anything hanging onto the side either. He must have gone up the other path.” Time continued, words sounding weird to him. His face felt numb and it took more effort than usual to properly form the words he wanted to stay. 

“Are you staying warm?” He asked, worried Twilight wasn’t faring any better. Time took a moment to check Twilight’s pieces of exposed skin for any signs of frostbite. The tips of his ears, his nose, nothing. Thank the goddesses… 

“I’m fine, Old Man. Let’s go.” Twilight swatted the hands away.

Going down the mountain was faster than trying to climb up it. They got to the fork and this time took the other path. It was just like Wild to take the more dangerous, less-noticeable route.   
Time was feeling more desperate as they went. They’d been out here for hours and Wild could have been out here for half the night for all they knew, instead of just slipping out before Twilight had woken up. 

The path was slippery, and just like everywhere else, there were still no tracks. The wind was blowing snow around and covering everything up. At least Time was sinking to his knees anymore.   
Then he saw the drop. 

It wasn’t a sheer drop; someone could have hypothetically slid down it and not broken both of their legs, if they had perfect balance. Time sighed and looked at Twilight to see if he was thinking the same thing. The tired look in his protégé’s eyes confirmed it. 

Wild would have definitely slid down this rock face if he went this way. 

Twilight went first and was able to descend with a bit of grace, sliding down bit by bit till he hit a flat piece of rock, where he could get his bearings and slide down a bit more. The lower half of the rocks were smoother, but he kept his feet under him and made it safe and sound. 

Time was another story. He was still hurt from the fight with the hinox and his ribs ached with every nervous breath. He told himself not to use his hands to try and slow himself down, that it would shred his palms. The Hero was stressed out however, nerves frayed, cold, and scared of breaking a leg. He used his hands. By the time he reached the solid ground next to Twilight, Time was glad his digits were so numb, or else he’d be in a good bit of pain. 

Twilight handed him a bandage and Time let his protégé lead the way for a bit while he wrapped his hands up, doing each finger individually so he could still properly grasp his sword or nock an arrow. The eldest Hero felt like they were looping around back to the cabin, trying to make sure they had a general idea where it was, once they found Wild.

They certainly wouldn’t stop till they found hi-

“There he is!” 

Time looked to where Twilight was pointing. They were at another, far less steep slope, and there, ahead of them, nearly hanging off of another drop off, was a tiny little bundle of clothes, blonde hair poking out from the thick collar, unmoving in a pile of snow. 

“WILD!” Neither of the Heroes felt the sharp, stabbing pain of being out in the cold for hours, as they ran towards the little heap of Hero. 

Time didn’t see any blood around him, but he was still too far away to even see if his chest was moving. Goddesses, he must be freezing. They needed to get him back to the cabin and thawing out or els-

Time’s thoughts were interrupted again by the ground shaking violently. They weren’t to Wild yet, but they were thrown back as they saw an enormous mass rise from the ground. The Hero watched in familiar horror as the being shook itself free from the snow that clung to its hulking frame. It was a talus, this one composed of what looked to be ice. 

He grit his teeth and drew his sword, body aching.

“Not again... I can't do this again..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliff hanger! Aha!  
> The next chapter will mostly just be fluff. Minus the talus. Good ol' sweet fluff with the boys!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've forgotten if I've mentioned it in previous chapters, but in this here story, Hyrule is 17 while Wild is 116.  
> Also Sky is really good at shadow puppets.

Time didn’t know how Wild put up with all the taluses in his Hyrule. Stone taluses, ice taluses, what was next? Some sort of flame talus? 

He dove out of the way of one of the monster’s enormous fists, ice spraying everywhere as it shattered into the ground. He barely had time to cover his face. 

This was Wild he was thinking of, though, the boy probably adored fighting these things. Time could only assume the kid had fighting these things, down to a science. 

It helped solidify his idea that Wild wasn’t laying there because of the talus. If it had been the cause, the eldest Hero didn’t think they’d be finding more than a thin, bloody Hero paste. The thought made his stomach twist. 

“It’s the super obvious stone pillar on its back, right?” Twilight hollered over as he dodged the ice chunks with more grace than his injured mentor. “What we’re supposed to hit?”

“Yeah, you distract it! I’ll see if fire arrows will do anything!” Time shouted back over the howling wind. There was so much snow, it clung to his eyelashes and tried to crawl down his throat as he attempted to steady his breath. Ribs were definitely cracked from last night, but he was counting his blessings. At least he hadn’t punctured a lung. 

Time felt Din’s Fire would have put a quick end to the talus, but he wouldn’t dare risk it. They still hadn’t gotten to Wild’s unmoving form and he didn’t want to risk hitting the unconscious Hero. Wild had far too many scars as it was.

Twilight lured the beast one way and Time took the opportunity to sprint around the other way, body screaming at the exertion, finally getting a chance to draw his bow and take a shot. The talus shuddered and with a fizz, the icy sheen faded, and it toppled to the ground. 

Neither of the experienced Heroes knew that it was the end. They weren’t going to stop till this thing was in pieces and couldn’t toss anything near Wild. They scrambled onto the creature as it rose again, swords drawn once more. 

Time hadn’t the fondest relationship with heights, but he wasn’t focused on that. He was focused on Wild. They had to get to him, had to get him out of the now and back in the cabin. They had to check him over for injuries, get him warmed up. 

This…this thing could have killed him. It could have noticed him were his footfalls any heavier in the snow, weak and barely conscious. It could have stood, unsympathetic with an enormous fist raised above the boy as he fell. Would he have cried? Begged for mercy? Or would he have just laid there, too weak, too cold to even lift his arms to shield himself? 

The thoughts boiled Time’s blood and he let out a roar as he hacked away at the stone. 

Wild never deserved a reason to cry or beg. He didn’t deserve to be scared. He didn’t deserve the things that had happened to him in the past, and although Time couldn’t change what had happened one hundred years ago, he could most certainly try to prevent anything like that ever happening to the boy again. 

“YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY KIDS!” He hollered, bringing down the sword again and again, chipping away till suddenly there was no more. 

“Jump!” He yelled, tackling Twilight off of the talus just before it shook violently much like the last one had. If they had still been standing on it, they would have been tossed right over Wild and off the small cliff. 

He’d already had that happen to Sky, and Time didn’t think there was a Great Fairy Fountain around here to patch up his protégé. 

As they fell to the ground, Time turned them around so he could cushion Twilight’s fall. There didn’t seem to really be a need to, he realized once they’d landed. The snow was so thick, he didn’t feel a thing. 

Besides the full-grown man crashing into his already fractured ribs, of course. 

Time wheezed, but he tried to hide the pain, force it from his face. Twilight’s protégé was already seriously hurt, he didn’t need to worry about his mentor on top of all of that. 

Twilight clambered off of Time and was running over to Wild before Time could sit up, though the older of the three was lumbering over right after him. 

“Wild, wake up.” Twilight hissed, “Cub, please.” They carefully turned him over to see his face and Time was relieved to see the faint movement of the younger Hero’s chest. 

“He’s breathing, we need to get him back to the cabin. He’s freezing.” Time said, “I don’t see any frostbite, but we need to move. Now.” 

Twilight ended up piggybacking his protégé while Time scanned ahead to find the quickest way back to the safety of the cabin. They couldn’t retrace their steps, neither of them were exactly experienced climbers, especially not in a blizzard, nor carrying someone. 

Instead, Time found another path leading back to the ladders they had climbed that morning and right down to the cabin. All it took was one switch from a piggyback to carefully draped over Twilight’s shoulder, and Wild was back in the cabin, the hours spent looking for the young Hero at an end. 

It certainly didn’t mean Time or Twilight relaxed any. 

They got the fire roaring again, warming up the cabin as they went to work looking over Wild for any injuries. He was freezing, even to their own frigid fingers. 

Although Time hadn’t found any broken bones or gaping wounds, he still wasn’t satisfied. 

Wild’s breathing was too slow, shallow. His pulse was barely there, and he didn’t even seem to have the energy to shiver. 

They knew what to do with hypothermia. Wild’s clothes were wet with melting snow so they had to take it off and tuck him into bed with every single blanket they could get their hands on. Their own, the ones from Wild’s Sheikah Slate, and the ones stored in the cabin for travelers. 

It was a tense time, but within the hour Wild stirred. He was shivering again, a good sign that he wasn’t as near to death as he had been. 

“Oh h-hey, when’d you get here?” the young Hero stuttered sleepily, and Time knew he wasn’t all there. Another symptom of hypothermia, but it was still a marked improvement from the half-dead lump the Hero of the Wild had been. 

“Hey, Cub.” Time smiled, brushing the stray hair out of the boy’s face, “I came over here while you were outside. You seem a bit cold, so Twi is heating up some milk for you. Warm milk, just a bit of honey, just the way you like it.” He had remembered, it was the same way Malon liked to prepare it when Time got sick and his throat hurt. 

“I do like my milk like that...” Wild mused, blinking slow, “That s-, that sounds good. I went to find breakfast, but my map doesn’t w- doesn’t work. Then I got cold… then I got tired. Can I take a nap?”

Twilight came over, mug carefully in his hand. Time took the cue and propped Wild up in his arms, “You can nap in just a bit, bud. You have to drink something warm first, then we’ll let you nap all you want.” 

Twilight needed to help his protégé hold the cup in his trembling hands and bring it to his mouth, but he seemed just as relieved as Time, to see Wild awake and semi-alert. 

“Pup, you’re still in your snowquill set,” Time quipped, “All the snow melted on it, you’re soaking wet. Put on something else and let it dry or else you’ll get sick next time you go outside.” He’d taken his own off, now comfortable in his usual tunic and pants, but he still hadn’t attended to his wounds. He’d been too focused on trying keep Wild alive. 

“Yeah, Twi.” Said Hero mumbled, “You’re soaking wet. The snowquill clothes look snazzy though.” He looked up at Time, who was fighting a smile, “They look snazzy, right?”

“Yes, Cub. Very snazzy.” Time agreed, sending a grin towards Twilight, who promptly rolled his eyes. 

He was pretty sure Wild would be okay. 

“How are you feeling, Wild?” Twilight asked after he’d set all three of their cold weather sets by the fire to dry and gotten himself into a tunic and trousers. He’d gotten the younger to finish the whole glass of warm liquid. The added sugar should help him too. 

“Like I’ve been run over by a horde of moblins.” The stutter was gone from Wild’s voice, though Time was still acting as the pillow propping him up. He’d still probably sleep through the rest of the day and all through the night. Time didn’t have much firsthand experience with hypothermia victims, though he’d heard plenty of stories. 

“I’m sorry for worrying you both.” Time blinked and glanced down at Wild, who was looking anywhere but their faces. “I’m sorry. I knew I shouldn’t have snuck out. I was sick, and now I’m even more sick because I had to be dumb and try to find some fresh food for breakfast. And now I almost died again, and you two could have died.. I don’t even know where I ended up passing out.”

Time sighed and ruffled his hair, “Well we didn’t die, and neither did you. You’ve learned from your mistakes and we’re all in one piece. That’s the best case scenario.”

“I think the worst part about all this, is that we spent so much time looking for you, I forgot the lecture I had prepared.” Twilight added, “You’re lucky, Cub.”

Wild smiled, a tired, lopsided thing, “Lucky me.”

“Alright, you look exhausted. Get some more sleep, okay?” Time interjected. He carefully laid Wild back down and snugly tucked him back into the blankets. Once the youngest was out cold again, which only took a few minutes, Time decided to check out his own injuries with Twilight’s help. 

Four ribs were broken for sure, with another two either broken or bruised. His scraped-up palms had bled through the bandages, but his nose hadn’t been broken from his escapade in the night. Time let Twilight help bandage him up again, and thankfully, his protégé seemed as hardy as ever. The worst the Pup had was a nasty bruise on his knee, but he was walking around the cabin fine. 

Neither of them had wound down enough to take a nap either. The eldest Hero could have only imagined the cabin-fever Twilight must be feeling. He’d spent days in this tiny one room cabin, unable to explore because he didn’t have the proper gear, or he was busy looking after a sick, feral boy. 

At least Wild couldn’t set anything on fire while he slept. 

“Your kids, huh?” Twilight mused from where he had settled at the foot of the bed, sharpening his blade after their fight.

Time looked at him, puzzled. “Excuse me?”

“Your kids.” Twilight repeated, “It’s what you called Wild and I when we were fighting the talus. I heard it clear as day. You said, ‘hragh! You stay away from my kids!’ and went nuts on that thing.” The wolfish young man smiled, “It was kind of cute, Old Man. In a way. I think you’re going soft.”

Time tsked, face feeling hot, “Shut up, I am not.” Was his immediate reply, followed by a tired, “You’ve both been through a lot, Pup, I’d hate to see either of you squashed by some walking ice.”

Twilight’s smile grew soft, quite for a bit, “Thanks for caring about us, Time.” 

The silence grew easy again and before Time knew it, Twilight was already working on supper as Time recounted all that had happened the past few days. The thunderstorm, finding the others, the dragons, the talus, the Fairy Fountain, all of it. 

“No sign of Legend or Four yet?” Twilight asked, and Time shook his head. 

“No, but they’re the ones with the most common sense. They’re probably doing better than we are.” Time shook his head. 

“Maybe, but Wild and I have had something none of you guys have...” Twilight laughed, “Cooking skills.” 

“Touché, Pup. I just hope the others are doing alright. I wonder what they’re up to.” Time retorted, a wry smile on his face.

A knock on the door answered his question. 

Sky and Hyrule, ruddy-faced and concerned, stood in the snow. Twilight pulled them in before shutting it. The last thing they needed was to get Wild cold again today. 

“What were you thinking?” Sky hissed at Time, and the eldest’s eyes widened. Sky never got mad at them.

“We were going to head over here in the morning, and when we wake up, all ready to go, we find you long gone, bed cold. The innkeeper said you left in the middle of the night, but what if she hadn’t told us? What were we supposed to think? Had you shifted? Did you suddenly start sleepwalking and fall off into the lake? No, you left in the middle of the night, in a place you don’t know. You could have been killed, you idiot!”

“I’m sorry, Sky. I was worrie-“ 

Sky cut Time off, “Yeah? We were all worried, but you had to go and worry us even more!”

“Sky, quit it. Calm down.” Twilight interrupted. “I know what he did was dumb and dangerous, but if he hadn’t Wild might have died.”

That got the Hero of the Sky to put a cap on his anger, “What? What happened? Is he okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” The four of them turned to see Wild, hair a mess, but sitting up on his own in bed. 

After a quick run-down by Twilight, and a formal apology was forgiven by Sky, things were a little livelier. There was enough soup to go around for everyone, and Hyrule had been tasked with filling in Wild with past events while Sky and Time tried to get the youngest’s long hair combed through and tied back so he stopped looking like a feral bokoblin. 

Wild, to his credit, seemed absolutely fascinated by how everyone else was faring in his Hyrule. 

“Oh yeah, there are always a ton of lizalfos up here in Tabantha and the Hebra range. I never understood it. I mean, they’re reptiles, aren’t they? That means they’re cold-blooded, so how they survive here, I don’t know.” Wild mused, nearly finished with his bowl of Twilight’s soup. There was the usual rosy-glow to his cheeks and it made Time feel better. 

According to Sky, Warriors and Wind had stayed in Rito Village. After they’d awoken to find Time MIA, they knew right away he headed to the cabin. However, they still wanted to keep someone in the village in case Four or Legend came by. Wind was elected to stay and forced Warriors to stay too, because he was sick of being the only Hero there. 

Sky and Hyrule had left by late morning, but the blizzard had slowed them down significantly. The plan was to head back to the village tomorrow or else Warriors and Wind were going to come looking for them. 

None of them really wanted to move Wild as soon as tomorrow, even though the Hero claimed he was feeling fine, but it had to be done. All four of them could take turns carrying him if they saw fit, and once they were in Rito Village, they could make sure he was resting up in a safe environment.

Dinner was a lighthearted affair after that, and Hyrule and Time washed everything while Sky entertained them all with shadow puppets in the fire’s light. 

None of them were opposed to calling it an early night. Time hadn’t slept in days and all the hiking through the snow, and nearly freezing to death in the snow for one of them, had a way of tuckering out the seasoned Heroes. 

Twilight and Hyrule opted to sleep in the single bed with Wild, the youngest sandwiched in between them to keep him extra warm just in case. And to keep him from getting any ideas of being able to sneak out again. Once was enough. 

Sky and Time settled down on the plush fur rugs near the fire. All their warm clothes were drying out still, inside the cabin comfortably toasty. Time was the last to fall asleep, like usual, but he was quick to follow the others. 

It was easy to sleep, finally knowing Twilight and Wild were okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!   
> In the next chapter, the whole (almost) gang will be reunited! Even if Wild doesn't like being babied.   
> If anyone's worried about Legend and Four, don't be. They have possession of all three (3) of the group's braincells and are having a blast!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the short hiatus! Got really into Kimetsu no Yaiba, and your girl goes all in when she finds something new. Then finals hit and oof. I need a nap.  
> This chapter is a bit self-indulgent because I like to think of Revali and Wild as sort-of friends.  
> Also, our dad Time is a bit stressed.  
> This isn't my best chapter, it's honestly just a bit of filler as I plan out the next few chapters.   
> Sorry again!

Time had another dream.

A memory that did not belong to him.

At least this one wasn’t as traumatic as seeing Wild’s last moments before his hundred-year nap. Time didn’t know if he could handle seeing another memory like that without banning Wild from ever putting himself in danger again.

“This is just asinine…”

Time’s eyes struggled to adjust to the bright light around him, but when they finally did so, it was only to find himself atop a mountain. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and it did nothing to help the blinding sun shining down on the snowy peaks. He really hoped he wouldn’t lose his eyesight over this.

Next to him stood a Rito, _Revali_ , Wild’s mind helpfully supplied, whose wings were crossed, looking about as irritated as a bird ever could. From how much he had to crane his neck to look up at the teenaged Rito, and the familiarly tiny hands he now possessed, Time was certain this must be one of Wild’s memories.

“There’s no reason to be doing this. Shield-surfing isn’t going to help us defeat Ganon.” Revali groaned, rolling his eyes, “Then again, I suppose I should have expected such a childish idea from the princess’s little knight.”

Time felt a swell of annoyance, but none of it was from Wild’s mind. How dare this little twerp talk down to Wild in such a condescending tone?

“It’s fun.” Wild’s body announced, silencing both Time’s annoyance and Revali’s huffs.

“While Zelda and the elder of the village talk, I thought this would be fun to do. I’d hate to have to remind you, but you’re not an adult any more than I am. When was the last time you did anything fun? Let’s have fun.” Wild smiled and Revali suddenly seemed to think anywhere but the Hylian’s face was the most interesting thing to look at.

“You want to, don’t you?” The Hero teased. “Revali, it’s okay to sometimes take a break.”

The bird huffed, “Fine... but I’m not ‘having fun.’ This is strictly training.”

“What kind of training?” Time could feel the grin on his face, it was the same one Wild wore when he wanted to get on Legend’s nerves.

“...Balance and leg endurance.” Revali muttered, “Shut up, you’re annoying. Let’s just get this over with.”

Time watched the Rito snatch up the shield Wild was offering him and took off down the mountain with a holler.

“I’ll beat you to the base of the mountain!” Revali called behind him and before Time knew it, he was sailing down the mountain behind the humanoid bird. He didn’t know if the joy he was feeling was more his or Wild’s, but it was nice to know that the Hero of the Wild did have some good memories before he’d met the eight others.

And if Wild had a pleasant memory of beating that condescending birdbrain in shield-surfing races all afternoon, that was fine by Time, too.

The eldest Hero woke in the morning to Sky hugging his arm like a teddy bear.

It took him a minute to remember where he was, but he got it eventually. He was in that small cabin at the base of the Hebra Mountains. Sky, Twilight, Hyrule, and Wild were all with him. Warriors and Wind were back at Rito Village in case Legend or Four reached the settlement. Goddesses above, he really needed those two to be okay.

Speaking of people to be worried about… Time carefully pried Sky off of him and stood, the sound of his steps muffled by the thick rugs adorning the cabin floor. From where he moved over to the bed, he could see three chests rising and falling.

Wild looked heaps better than he had yesterday, a nice rosy glow to his cheeks. Time could still remember how pale the teenager had been when they’d pulled him out of the snow, how weak his breathing had been. A nice warm meal and plenty of rest had done wonders, but he didn’t know if he was willing to let Wild run around yet.

If anyone could find trouble, it was the Hero of the Wild. Not that any of them were much better.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Sky teased, finally waking up. The words were spoken a bit sarcastically, the Hero still a bit upset at Time for running off in the middle of the night, but Time took the advice. He picked up Wild’s Sheikah Slate and checked to see if the camera was still working since almost everything else was on the fritz. It did, thank goodness, and Time was able to snap a picture of the three sleeping boys.

Time enjoyed looking through the pictures, especially when Malon was next to him back at Lon Lon Ranch. She adored the boys just as much as he did. He hoped they could go back to his Hyrule soon… his wife must be worrying herself sick over all of them disappearing so suddenly and he felt awful about it.

Neither Time nor Sky could bring themselves to wake the others, but they didn’t have to. Soon enough, the other three were awake with all the grace and poise of half-dead bokoblins.

And the appetite.

Twilight helped Wild over to the cooking pot and their cook started on breakfast while they discussed the day’s plan.

“We need to get back to Rito Village today. The sooner the better. If we don’t, Warriors and Wind are coming for us and expecting the worst. If we can save them that trouble, it would be good.” Hyrule reminded them.

“Okay, we can head out after breakfast, but what are we going to do about Wild?” Twilight asked, scowling when said Hero smacked his hand away from the last bit of honey in his inventory.

“I can walk, you kno-“

Time cut him off, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. You’re still recovering. I’ll carry you.”

Wild looked irritated, “Oh forgive me, I though you just said ‘because you can, doesn’t mean you should.’ Aren’t you the one with the broken ribs? You aren’t carrying me. I bet you can’t even sleep on your side.”

Time hated that Wild had spent so much time with Malon. The teen had perfected her disappointed stare and now it was currently directed at him.

“Okay, fine. I won’t but someone else will, and no, before you even ask, no one is allowed to try and tame one of those wild horses I saw out there. We already almost lost you yesterday due to hypothermia, we don’t need to let you get kicked in the head by a horse.” Time said, frowning down at the boy.

Goddesses, it had been less than a day and Time was already getting cabin fever. He didn’t know how Twilight had handled it, or Wild for that matter.

“Okay, so we eat breakfast, had on out, and get back to Rito Village? Then what, we regroup?” Sky asked, breaking the tension between the two.

“Yeah. Hopefully Legend and Four stopped by, but I’m not holding my breath.” Time nodded.

Breakfast today, consisted of eggs and fried potatoes. Time, Hyrule, and Sky could have cried. First a delicious dinner last night, and now breakfast; they had missed their cook dearly.

Their snowquill clothes were dry by the time they pulled them on, and decided that Twilight would be the one to carry Wild. At least until he got tired, though none of them thought he would. On the off chance he did, Sky was next in line to piggyback the rambunctious teen, then Hyrule till it looped back to Twilight.

The weather had cleared up wonderfully overnight, and as they set off mid-morning, Time couldn’t help but feel optimistic. Seven out of nine Heroes had been found, and the two remaining were both smart as a whip. Finding those two would be a piece of cake.

Time thought of his new memory as they walked along the snowy path back to the village. It had been fun, shield-surfing in that memory, and he couldn’t help but hope he could give it a try. Maybe once they got Wild’s Sheikah Slate repaired, there was a way they could reach the top of one of the mountains and give it a try.

The trip back to the village was a short one, all of them excited to get out of the cold and back to the other two. There also weren’t any more monsters to worry about. Only a few wolves gave them trouble, but even those were shooed away fairly easily.

“Oh my goddesses! Wild! Twi! You’re alive!” Wind was ecstatic to see them all return well before suppertime. Warriors seemed thrilled as well, but he wasn’t dancing around the group like the younger.

“We were so worried! Time we’re so mad at you, but I can’t think of what I was going to yell at you because Wild and Twilight are here!” The youngest boy followed them to the inn where they got Wild plopped down in a bed, all ignoring the indignant huff.

There was a quick retelling of events. Wind was still horribly jealous he hadn’t seen a Talus yet, and Warriors gave Wild a very stern talking to about the dangers of wandering off in the middle of a snowstorm. Neither Legend nor Four had come, but there had been a traveler coming from the northeast who’d mentioned talking briefly with a very short young man on the east side of Mount Drena.

The directions meant nothing to Time, but Wild’s eyes had lit up.

“Oh, I know where that is! We can head out tomorrow and if we get an early start, and some horses, we could get there by nightfall.” He announced, “That way, you guys can’t complain that I’m pushing myself. I’ll be on a horse.”

Time couldn’t argue with that. It would keep Wild off of his feet a little longer and give his body time to really heal up.

“I’m fine with that. Everybody good with it?” Time asked and after a spattering of agreements and nods, it was decided. Today was allowed for rest and recovery, but tomorrow they had to keep pushing forward. Someone had talked to Four, and hopefully Legend was with him.

It gave Time hope.

The rest of the day went by faster than Time would have liked. Warriors and Twilight had been hovering over Wild the whole time. They both saw him as a reckless younger brother, and they also both knew he needed two pairs of eyes on him so he couldn’t sneak off and cause more trouble for himself. Everyone else saw fit to laze about, telling each other or the curious Rito children stories, sneaking in naps, or otherwise enjoying not walking any long distances.

As they ate dinner and checked their bags for the coming day, the same sort of restless tension hung over them like the night before they were going to shift. At the end of the day, they were all experienced travelers, adventurers, warriors. They were Heroes, and they all knew that this journey wouldn’t be easy. Hylia, or maybe even something far less benevolent had brought them together, and now had brought them to Wild’s Hyrule for a reason. Time hoped they could find the last two in their group and get out of this dangerous Hyrule alive.

Not for the first time, and certainly not the last, the battle-hardened Hero offered up a silent prayer to the goddess to keep his boys safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time would throw hands with Hylia for his boys.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am alive!  
> Sorry for not posting so long, I've been working on this chapter for months, but creativity is a a truly fickle mistress.  
> This chapter is mostly just Time sadboi hours and Time dadboi hours. And Wild.

Time’s ribs hurt and he hated it. 

He had hated it when he was younger, but now that he wasn’t exactly a spring cucco, he hated it even more. It made old injuries ache and tired muscles twitch with anticipation. His body was too used to moving, always tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Someone always needed saving, a monster always figuring out it would be more useful if a certain reincarnating Hero had a sword through his heart than let him roam around. There was always a problem happy to rear its ugly head before he ever had a chance to relax. 

That had changed when he met Malon. Really met her. When he’d realized how much he loved her and wanted to make sure she felt just as loved. She taught him how to breathe, to just... breathe, in a way he had forgotten the moment he first let his fingers grace the hilt of a sword all that time ago. 

Malon was different than the chaos around her. She was kind and caring in a way he hadn’t known he needed till he felt it. It was her gentle touches, soft lips kissing away his tears when it was all too much. It was her melodic voice as she’d remind him that it was all right, supportive arms hugging him close as she sang away the nightmares, sweet and slow like honey dripping carefully to envelope him and protect him from being overwhelmed with the guilt and bad memories. 

It was her smile that pulled him from the panic attacks. The cute, slightly crooked one that made her scrunch her nose and her eyes sparkle. Sometimes Malon would catch him staring and she’d get embarrassed. She always laughed when she was embarrassed, and then sometimes she’d accidentally snort. Then she’d get even more embarrassed. 

It had happened at their wedding, one of Time’s fondest memories. 

He’d remember that smile, remember Malon, and his old injuries didn’t seem that bad.

Right now, as Time sat in the warm morning light, he thought of Malon till his ribs didn’t ache any more. 

She’d already be up by now, taking a moment to enjoy the sunrise and her morning cup of tea. Cinnamon was Malon’s favorite, just like Wild. A dash of milk and a spoonful of honey, two if they didn’t think anyone was looking. Speaking of Wild.. 

Time sighed softly and glanced over at the sleeping lump in the far bed. It had originally held only Twilight, but Wild had a way of migrating over to his mentor throughout the night. They both seemed to sleep better knowing the other one was near. Once Time was sure they were both breathing, he looked to each one of the other Heroes, counting breaths in his head. Eight soundly sleeping boys, breathing evenly and getting the rest they needed. 

They’d have to get up soon, but Time couldn’t bring himself to wake the other Heroes just yet. Wild had spiked another fever in the night, and as much as Sky had denied it, the eldest Hero had an inkling that the younger’s ankle still was a bit sore from their fight with that stone talus. 

They were Heroes though, and admitting that they were hurting... that was a foreign concept none of them could ever truly get used to. They had to be alright, to get back up no matter how many times they had been knocked down. They were the Hylia's Heroes, and as much as they tried to, it was a hard habit to break and admit when things weren’t okay. 

One of the lumps in the inn’s beds moved a bit and Warriors’ face emerged from the blankets to stare groggily at Time. He didn’t look very happy.

“How long have you been up?” The captain asked, “Wait, don’t tell me. I don’t need to know. The bags under your eyes have already told me enough.”

Time shrugged, there was never a need to try and make excuses with the older boys. He’d been up since before dawn to intermittently check on Wild and the others. As frustratingly familiar it felt, he was running on just a few hours of sleep again. 

An exasperated sigh tore Time from his thoughts. 

“You know, you and Wild have the exact same expression when you two think too hard. You both look lost.” Warriors mused. He shifted to a sitting position, legs crossed. “So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you, or do I have to sic Sky and Twi on you? They’ll assume it’s just your injuries and you’ll be stuck in bed all day.”

“… You’ve been spending too much time with Legend.” Time frowned, running a hand through his messy hair. He felt childishly flustered, frustrated to be caught. “I’d expect that sort of underhanded worry from him. Not you.” 

Time got a huff of response, but the expectant look adorning Warriors’ face told him he hadn’t antagonized the Hero enough to make him drop the subject. He didn’t know how the others were so good at it. Then again, Warriors’ always did care a great deal when someone in their group was genuinely troubled by something. 

“I miss my wife.” Time finally admitted. It was as good of a start as any, he supposed. He could see Warriors listening attentively out of the corner of his eye as he looked back out to the mountains ahead of them. Absently, the experienced Hero wondered how often the Captain and listened to his own soldiers’ thoughts. 

“I feel bad that we ended up leaving in the middle of the night.” Time continued. “I never got to say goodbye, and I know she worries. I do too. Wild’s Hyrule doesn’t even have a postal service for that strange postman, so I can’t send her a letter. I have no way of telling her that we’re okay.”

Time groaned softly, “I don’t even know if we’re okay…” Now that he’d started to talk, it just kept coming. 

“I’m worried about Legend and Four. That they’re stuck out in the cold, or they’ve encountered a new monster that they don’t know how to fight. Like how we found the talus. Then I’m worried about the Cub. He spiked another fever again through the night. With the sort of cold temperatures his Hyrule gets, I don’t know if we should toss him into it while he’s burning up. Even with those snowquill clothes. What if he gets worse? What if we turn our back for a moment too long and he wanders off on a fever-induced hallucination?”

Time made a face, “You remember what happened when he got sick in your Hyrule?”

Warriors stifled a snort in an attempt to not wake anyone else.

“How could I forget? He fought a tree because he thought it looked at ‘Rule funny. Then he ran off and joined that apple-worshipping cult for an hour before Legend found him and dragged him back.”

As much as Time tried not to, he couldn’t help but smile. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone be as aggressively caring as Legend hauling Wild away from that old house.”

The younger Hero smiled reassuringly, “Old Man, it’s okay to miss your wife. It’d be weird if you didn’t. As for the missing two, I’m sure they’re fine. That traveler yesterday had seen them, and since he didn’t mention them frozen to death, I’m assuming they’re doing well. And- well-“ 

Warriors looked a bit sheepish, “I don’t think it would really be the end of the world to spend another day here. We do have to catch horses, and even with Twilight, that’s going to take a while. You and the sick kid aren’t allowed to help. Wind and Sky are still pretty new to the whole ‘horse’ thing, and Hyrule and I have never exactly caught a wild one.”

Time opened his mouth to tell Warriors he could help but the latter shook his head, “You know it as well as I do, Wild needs someone to keep an eye on him till his fever breaks. You said it yourself, what if he wanders off on a fever-induced hallucination? Besides, Legend would throat punch you if he found out that you didn’t properly care for the kid. As much as he tries to hide it, he’s a feral gremlin too and they’re in cahoots. No pushing yourself today.”

The Hero of Time could only frown. He didn’t like when Warrior was right; he looked too smug.

“Fine, but this means you actually have to catch a horse.”

The indignant gasp Time earned was worth it. 

The other Heroes began to wake up soon enough, and none of them seemed particularly peeved to be staying here another day, just to catch horses and rest. With the stories the Rito villagers had been telling them about the Hebra Tundra, they weren’t too keen on spending half of the day scrabbling around to get their steeds and getting such a late start on their journey. 

From what Wild and the Rito had stated, their best bet was to get an early start tomorrow and try to reach the next stable along the road. If the weather held out, that was. If not, Wild had told them about an old man named Pondo who’d probably let them hole up at his cabin for a night. 

With that in mind, after a hearty breakfast, most of the Heroes headed out to find horses to tame. Time stayed in the village with Wild, despite the latter’s protests. 

“It’s my Hyrule, why do I have to stay here? I’m the one who tames horses, too! No one else does it except for Hyrule and that’s only because I taught him.” Fevers had a way of making the scarred Hero’s frowns turn out a bit more like pouts, and Time fought the upward twitch in his mouth watching the teenager rant. Hyrule saved him from having to explain a third time, at least. 

“Because you’re sick.” The Hero of Hyrule answered with ease, helping Sky wrap the younger up in a blanket, “Your reflexes are slow because of that fever, and you’re gonna end up getting trampled to death or kicked in the head. And that’s bad. Besides, we’re not as hopeless as you think. You taught me, War’s ridden horses plenty of times, and I think Twi’s part horse. Wind and Sky are fast learners.”

Despite Wild’s best efforts, he was soon contained in a blanket burrito long enough for the able-bodied Heroes to scamper off to the field outside of Rito Village and the nearby stable, where he’d mentioned were often wild horses. Now it was just Time and his protégé’s protégé. The group had been spending quite a bit of time at the inn, but the two ended up seated at the large landing higher up in the village, legs dangling off the edge. It was a stunning view, and Time noted that Wild seemed calmer up here, quietly lost in his thoughts.

“Do you want to talk about something, Cub?” Time asked softly. 

He knew he wasn’t the one Wild usually came to when he wanted a willing set of ears, but it wasn’t due to a lack of attention on the older’s part. Time knew it was often easier to talk to peers, than someone older like himself or Malon. He’d been like that as well. It was Saria, Navi, and Malon he went to when he was upset or frustrated, and it wasn’t just because the Great Deku Tree couldn’t hug him when he had nightmares. 

“I’m..I don’t know..” Wild’s whispered words derailed Time’s train of thought.

“I don’t know how I feel about being here in my Hyrule with all of you.” The scarred Hero admitted, tugging the blanket around his shoulders tighter. 

“I’m excited to show you all around, but I don’t know why my Sheikah Slate is acting up. I don’t even know if it would work with all of us, but I’d at least like the opportunity to try. I don’t know why we even came here. What’s the point? Why’d Legend and Four land so far away from the rest of us?” 

Wild sighed, resting his chin in his hand, “I am excited though, to show you guys everything and everyone. Except the Yiga, I guess. They’re such a pain, but I mean for assassins, they are pretty entertaining.”

Time snapped his head towards Wild, “They’re what now?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Wild shrugged. 

Time was going to certainly worry about that, but Wild interrupted him before he had a chance to voice any of his concerns. 

“Oh! I think that’s Teba and Kass! Time, look!” 

The older Hero looked up to see two large shadows in the distance soaring through the air and approaching fast. 

“Those are the two who helped you out, right?” Time asked, not at all about to forget about assassins, but he also hadn’t seen Wild smile this wide since before they arrived at his Hyrule, so he’d let it be for the time being. 

“Mhm, that’s right.” Wild replied, “Kass traveled all over Hyrule and he helped me out a ton when I was on the road. He tells the best stories, he knows, like, everything. And Teba risked his life to help me take control of Vah Medoh.”

The young Hero pointed up to the large bird-shaped machine that had been looming over the village. Time still didn’t know how a thing that heavy could stay perched on such a relatively small sliver of rock. 

“After I took control back of Vah Medoh, he got all..” Wild bit his lip, looking for the right word, “I don’t know… ike you or Malon. Or War when he has too much to drink. Him and his wife. They worry about me, and they always make sure I have enough food when they see me, and that I’m staying warm and remembering to sleep.”

“I think you mean you got adopted by a bird family.” Time chuckled, ruffling Wild’s hair.

Wild swatted the hand away and stuck out his tongue, “Anyway, I was really hoping those two would come back to the village before we left. I’m really glad.” 

The two stood, watching the Rito fly closer and closer till they landed. Wild was quick to run over, seemingly feeling better already, as Time walked a little closer to be introduced. He wasn’t expecting a giant blue parrot, but the Cub’s Hyrule really was full of surprises. Teba looked more like Time expected, sharp angles and a battle-hardened set to the Rito’s face. He was a warrior who’d seen the worst the world had to offer, came out scarred, and yet still had a lovely little family. It reminded Time of Malon and their own future children, but he fought off the twinge of homesickness to let Wild introduce him. 

Before the Hero of Time knew it, he’d made fast friends with Teba and Kass, a little relieved to be able to talk adventurers and warriors his own age for a bit. It made him feel less like the leader he always had to be, and more like just a normal guy again. 

They were out on the balcony next to the inn now, waiting for the boys to return. As it turned out, all three grown and seasoned Wild-babysitters had plenty of stories to share with one another, much to said Hero’s dismay. He’d whipped up a quick lunch for everybody, but Wild clearly had changed his mind about wanting the three of these people together. 

“-I swear, it’s like he’s allergic to sleep!”

“Oh that’s an easy fix, you just have to sing to him.” 

“Really? Huh, I guess that’s true. When Sky sings before bed, he’s usually out cold.”

Wild’s face couldn’t get any redder, but it was certainly amusing for Time to watch. It also made him feel better about Wild’s situation. Here in his own Hyrule, Wild had people who cared for him. Not just villagers either, but people who could handle themselves in a fight and from all the stories, save Wild’s butt plenty of times too. 

“Okay! Enough talking about me, you’re just trying to out-dad each other at this point. Teba? Kass? Aren’t you tired from flying? And Time, we should head to the stable and see if the others are back. They can meet those two at dinner.” Wild looked like he wanted to jump off the edge of the village into the water below and the three decided to cut him some slack. 

After some quick goodbyes and a few hair ruffles towards Wild, the two Rito headed up to their own houses to at least try to get a nap in. Time and Wild took the opportunity to head down to the stable. Wild didn’t have a fever anymore and that fact alone did wonders in lowering Time’s blood pressure. 

“I like those two.” The older of the two Heroes mused, “They seem to be a good influence on you.”

At the stable, the other boys seemed to have just arrived. Wind was waving ecstatically and Wild was quick to ask them to pose for a picture. Time was surprised to see they had managed to catch five horses with only a few new bruises and scrapes. 

“I caught three of them.” Twilight said, not waiting for the question as he walked up to his mentor and protégé. 

He was sporting a nasty bruise on his cheek that Wild immediately prodded, resulting in the younger being caught in a headlock as punishment for his crimes. Warriors and Sky were talking with the stable manager, paying for the saddles and bridles, as well as the fee to have all five of the horses boarded for the night. 

“I caught one.” Hyrule announced, beaming brightly.

“And I caught the last one!!” Wind was nearly jumping with joy, “All by myself! War tried and he ate it big time. He’s lucky he didn’t get kicked in the head. Sky tried a few times, but after Twi told him about how a single horse kick in the head could kill you, he stopped. He’s really good at calming down horses though, once they’re caught.” 

Wild, Hyrule, and Wind were content to already start heading back up to the village, leaving the older four at the stable.

As Warriors and Sky walked up to Time, he noted that War did in fact have more than a few grass stains adorning his tunic. 

“I hate this Hyrule...” He muttered sourly, “The only good part of this is that Legend isn’t here to see me like this.” 

“Oh, come now,” Time smiled, elbowing the knight, “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. Wild introduced me to two of his friends who arrived today, and they promised to pull out the good liquor once the kids go to bed tonight.” 

“Okay, maybe Wild’s Hyrule isn’t that bad.” Warriors mused. “Those horses are too smart though.”

By the time the older four got back up to the village, Wild had already started on dinner, and by the time Kass and Teba had met everyone, dinner was already almost done. It was an easy, lighthearted affair. The boys talked through dinner and Kass told stories by the fire till it was late. Time made sure everyone was doing alright, clothes washed, and bags packed for tomorrow’s early start. 

After the three younger Heroes were sent off to bed and the alcohol came out, Time didn’t remember falling asleep, but before he knew it, he was waking up to the distinct sound of Sky’s snores in the early morning light. 

Today was the day. They had to head out. He just hoped Legend and Four were doing alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, kind of a long-winded boring dialogue heavy chapter.   
> Thank you so much for reading! If you like the story so far, feel free to leave a kudos and a comment if you'd like!  
> I hope you have a wonderful day!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, your gal's been getting butt-whooped by life. Also I use the exact same snow puns three times in this chapter.  
> Thirteen chapters, but we're getting close to seeing our boys the Leg Man and Fiveminusone!

When Time woke that morning, he felt better than he had since he’d gotten to this Hylia-forsaken Hyrule. He couldn’t help but feel meeting Teba and Kass had helped. It eased at least some of the anxiety in his chest, to see that Wild did in fact have folks in his own Hyrule that cared deeply about him. As unpleasant as the thought was, he knew one day, if they all made it out of this adventure alive, they’d still have to part ways. They would all go back to their own Hyrule, their own time, and never see one another again.

Time refused to think about that too much, instead sitting up in bed. Everyone was tangled together as per usual, though he figured a few of the older boys might not be feeling exactly peppy. Not with how late they’d stayed up last night, bottles in hand.

Deciding to be useful, he treaded quietly away to start breakfast. It wasn’t anything fancy; he wasn’t a very good cook, but the harrowed adventurer could at least make a decent breakfast. He wanted to do that for the boys, let them sleep in as much as they could. They still would have to get up early to make good time, but half an hour more asleep would surely be appreciated. 

There was only the faintest bit of the morning light peeking through the clouds, which was a bit worrying. The clouds continued towards the northeast and he feared a blizzard. Still, they had to continue forward. They needed to find Legend and Four. Once he knew they were all out of immediate danger, Time could let everyone think of relaxing a bit more and actually enjoying exploring this new Hyrule. 

Wild was unsurprisingly the next one to rise, hair a tangled mess atop his head as he crawled out from the pile of limbs and sleeping boys with an unfair amount of grace, for the hour of day. Time at least could appreciate the teen feeling better, more himself. 

“Your eggs look bad and you didn’t even season them.” 

Okay, maybe Time didn’t appreciate it that much.

After a bit of help from Wild, he got all the boys up and eating. They all knew they’d need the energy today. It was going to be probably the coldest, snowiest wasteland they’d all ever been in, and that in itself was daunting. Adding in the possibility of new monsters like the Taluses, and Time was a little more than anxious. 

No one else seemed to be as worried, or else they were hiding as well as he was. Wild and Twilight were downright excited, if their chatter was anything to go off of. He’d lump in Wind and Hyrule but they both voiced anxieties in dealing with the temperatures. Sky just seemed happy to get in practice riding a horse, and Warriors… Warriors appeared to be lost in his coffee, nursing a hangover from the night prior.

Once breakfast was finished off, all seven Heroes double checked their gear and meandered down the intricate network of rope bridges to the stable. All five horses were accounted for and loaded with gear and supplies. 

“I wish I had remembered the Shiekah tech saddle and bridle on Mildred...” Wild groaned, scuffing his boots in the dirt, “I could have called her here, she loves the snow.”

“What does a saddle and bridle have to do with getting a horse here?” Twilight asked, adjusting the saddle on one of the horses

“Did I never tell you?” Wild looked surprised when he got a head shake 'no' from the older Hero. “Really? I thought I would have at least told a horse guy like you. It’s a saddle built by the ancient Shiekah; you know how if you whistle, if your horse hears it, it’ll come running? Well Sheikah magic is about the coolest thing ever, and if I whistle while my horse has it on, she’ll teleport to me.” 

The baffled looks he earned only fueled the wild child further, but Time was too incredulous to stop him. 

“Yeah, I could be on one side of Hyrule and Mildred - she’s the horse I travel with the most because I think she really likes stomping bokoblins, she’ll be on the other side, like way, way, days away, and she’ll still get to me in seconds.”

“Okay, you’re just joking right?” Warriors asked from beside Time, “You’re not? Wild, we gotta see that sometime.” 

After Wild had pinky promised the boys he’d show them, they were all able to focus back at the task at hand. They kept their snowquill sets ready to go once it got colder and turned their attention to the horses. 

There were five. That wasn’t enough for seven people to each get a horse, and some of them had never ridden one before, while others were injured and recovering. Sky fell into both categories as much as he denied his ankle bothering him. 

With a bit of deliberation, it was decided, Wild and Hyrule would ride together up front, followed by Twilight and Wind behind them and leading Sky and his horse. Behind him, Time would ride by himself and Warriors would take up the rear. It was the best they could do while still not forcing the horses to carry too much weight. 

Once that was settled, Teba, Kass, and their respective families flew down from the village to say their goodbyes and wish them safe travels. It gave Time a momentary twinge of envy. These men got to spend so much time with their families. They could kiss their wives goodnight every night, and ruffle their children’s hair every morning. 

He hoped he really would be able to settle down again, have his own little ankle-biter with Malon and make sure they were both kept safe. And if he could make sure eight, slightly taller ankle-biters were all kept safe too, he certainly wouldn’t complain. 

Goodbyes didn’t last long, even with Sky having to hug each one of the little Rito chicks farewell. Time got a few hearty slaps on the back and a delightfully alcoholic beverage slipped into his bag, for which he was grateful. He promised Teba and Kass to meet again and have another night full of laughs and story-swaps. 

With that, the Heroes were off. 

It became cold fairly quickly and they had to change into their snowquill sets soon enough. It felt like one minute, they were dispatching a camp of monsters, the next, Time was making sure all of his boys had properly tied their snow boots. 

It was snowing a bit as the horses trudged along. It certainly wasn’t a blizzard and Time hoped that would last at least till they got to safety.

The next hour was spent with Wind convincing them to all name their horses, Wild and Hyrule joining in, and subsequently all of them trying to come up with proper names for their new equine friends. 

Warriors came up with his first. Diomedes. It felt oddly fitting for the sleek black horse who, no matter how many carrots, had a habit of trying to bite any Hylian leg he saw with his beady little eyes. The horse looked more suited in the battlefield than a lonely and very snowy path, but then again, so did Warriors. 

Sky chose his horse’s name next, happy to call her Rosie. She was a sweet dappled pink gal, who was giving the newbie rider upon her back about as pleasant a ride as possible. He’d found that apples were her favorite food and preferred them sliced. 

Wild and Hyrule’s horse was… something else. A solid brown color with a black mane, Time thought it acted more like a bokoblin on the sugar rush of it’s life, than a horse. It liked to run, it liked to go off the path, and the two Heroes were a bit too happy to encourage it. It stuck it’s head in hollow tree trunks, chased some wolves, and was happy to cause as much chaos as possible. Wild and Hyrule decided Mona was a fitting name. Time decided he didn’t like that horse. 

Twilight and Wind had to debate good and long to come up with a name they both agreed on. Their horse was a large, extremely mellow, chestnut-colored horse. Time could see that horse thriving on a farm, happy to spend half his time working hard and the other half munching grass and getting ear scratches, equally happy. The two boys decided on Dusty.

That left Time, who for the life of him, couldn’t think of a good name for his horse. It was dark blue, calm and collected, and more than happy to just observe what was going on around it. He missed Epona, but at least he hadn’t been stuck with Mona. Besides, she was too old to adventure and deserved a nice retirement.  
Time hadn’t realized his mistake till it was too late, but he gave naming responsibility to the younger three. Now he was stuck with a horse named Sparkles McHorseface… They were already coming up with a song too… 

Coming up with horse names only did so much for a distraction. Before long, no one was talking. They were all more focused on following the road and keeping warm. The special Rito-down clothes didn’t do much to protect any exposed bit of skin, save for the tips of their ears. Time assumed that was just a bit of magic at play. He just wished it worked on his whole face. He made sure the other Heroes were all covered up, hoods, blankets, extra gloves, if it fit over them and the snowquill clothes, he made the put it on. 

The extra clothing did get a bit in the way of fighting when they came upon a group of monsters holed up in the ruins of a small village, but thankfully these creatures weren’t infected with whatever mess had been infecting monsters in some of the other Hyrules. Yet. It was only a matter of time, after all. These ones were a piece of cake for seven experienced Heroes, no matter how much the extra layering inhibited their usual movement. 

There was another towering spire at the top of the hill by the ruins. It glowed an ethereal blue, just like the last one Time had seen back in the Tabantha frontier. Wild was here this time, so he could answer questions. The spires, towers, were built by the same folks who’d built the shrines they’d seen dotting the landscape. Except the towers were used as a sort of communication hub for each portion of Hyrule and not, as Wild had put it, ‘a dumb, stupid, awful pain in the ass’ like he regarded the shrines. 

It was around lunch, but no one seemed keen on stopping to eat in this cold. Wild took note and led them just a way down the hill to a cabin. There was an old man there, tall and stick-thin with a puffball of white hair atop his head who stood next to a giant snowball. He introduced himself as Pondo. 

“Hallo! Ice to meet you ball!” 

Time was struck with an odd sense of horror. Oh Goddesses. Puns. He’d been delighted with them as a child, but he’d grown bitter as an adult. He couldn’t think of them like others could, not anymore. It had left him a bit envious, not that he was too keen on admitting that to anyone but Malon. 

“Ice to see you, Pondo.” Wild replied with a smile, pointedly avoiding the daggers being stared into the side of his head by the Hero of Time. “I’m traveling with um- family and we’re all pretty cold. I was wondering if we could warm up a bit in your cabin, maybe eat lunch? If not, that’s snow problem, we’ll be out of your hair in a flurry.” 

“It’s snow problem, kiddums. You and your family are welcome in the cabin. You can spend the night there if you’d like. Or play a game of snowball bowling!” Pondo certainly seemed to enjoy the company, but none of the boys wanted to sit around and think about it too much when there was a cabin right there. Time’s face felt so frozen, he was afraid his mouth wouldn’t be able to form words, but he managed alright. 

“Thank you, Pondo. We’ll have to discuss it amongst ourselves, but we do appreciate your hospitality.” Time was grateful for the opportunity for the seven Heroes to warm themselves before someone lost a finger or toe to frostbite.

There was a chattering of thanks as the Heroes clambered off of their horses and piled into the cabin. It was about as big as the cabin at the foot of the Hebra Mountains, but not a soul would complain about being squished. It just meant added body heat. 

“Oh thank Goddesses,” Wind groaned as they all fought to get closest to the fireplace without actually falling in, “I’ve never been so cold in my entire life! Who would ever choose to live here all the time? My fingers don’t even want to bend without effort.”

There were hums of agreement from a few of the others as they pulled out food. There was a cooking pot, but Wild didn’t seem to want to settle down. Time looked at him, a silent question between them. 

“We can’t stay here long.” Wild said, pausing before he realized he needed to actually explain instead of muttering cryptic one-word answers. 

“It’s just that if we hurry, we can reach Snowfield Stable today. Legend and Four might be there, or someone who’s seen them. I’d rather get there before dark. Getting caught out on the road in the dark here sucks since we can’t exactly stop and camp for the night. We have to keep traveling and that’s not fair on the horses.” 

“Okay, we’ll have a quick lunch.” Warriors spoke up with a nod. Time didn’t really realize how strange the Captain looked without his usual armor and tunic, thought the scarf was still snugly wrapped around his neck. In fact, they all looked a bit strange now that he was thinking about. He shook the thought out of his head. 

“Alright, it’s settled then, yes?” Time looked to each one of the Heroes do see them nod. “Eat your provisions and then we’ll head out again. Remember plenty of water, too. We’ll see if the weather holds out, but if it doesn’t, stay close to one another. No running off ahead.” He sent a pointed look at Hyrule and Wild who shifted their gazes to their boots. 

Lunch was a quick affair, the boys cramming all they could into their mouth while simultaneously coming up with as many snow-related puns as they could while Time pretended he wasn’t green with envy. No one was looking forward to going back out in the frigid weather, but it had to be done. The Heroes checked one another’s gloves and boots, tucked away every inch of skin they could before heading back outside. 

“It was ice to see you, Pondo!” Wild waved a goodbye at the elderly man, “We have to snow on ahead, though. I’m sure I’ll see you again.” 

The horses seemed to be keen on moving again, once everyone was seated in the saddles once more. At least there weren’t hordes of monsters in this neck of the woods. It just seemed to be more and more snow, as far as the eye could see. The afternoon was spent in near silence, save for a few games of ‘I spy’ and the quiet mumblings as the three youngest tried to finish the song about Time and his new horse. They seemed to have overestimated the number of words that rhymed with ‘horse’. 

Somehow, the weather stayed relatively calm the entire rest of the day, only picking up a little as night began to fall and they finally reached the stable. It looked like the previous ones, save for the thick tent walls were actually closed to keep the warmth in. 

Everyone seemed to recognize Wild as all seven Heroes shuffled in. Twilight and Sky paid for the beds as the rest of them began to shed all the extra clothing. It was warm in the stable, and they really didn’t need their snowquill clothes getting all sweaty and wet in case they needed to don them once more before tomorrow. Wet clothes could literally mean life or death in a place like this. The only one who kept the warmer clothes on was Wild and Warriors, who went out to cook dinner. 

Time could have cried when they came back in with a steaming pot. They all could have, warm food sounded downright salivary at this point. 

“It’s just pumpkin soup; it’s quick and I’m tired.” Wild admitted. “It turns out that Legend and Four have been here, though. The stable manager out front told us about it.” 

As he began serving out portions and they all got settled around the pot, Warriors nodded, continuing. “Sounds like they landed just outside here. Lucky break. They bought some of the snowquill clothes off of a traveling merchant. I guess they were going to wait here till one of us stumbled by, but according to the stable manager the ‘taller, angrier’ one convinced the other to head out a few days ago. My guess is Legend got sick of freezing his butt off here and they headed for warmer weather. Or he realized how much fun I’d make of him seeing him wear pants. Either way, Wild says they’re probably at Serenne Stable. Next stable over, takes like a day and a half to get there.” 

Time thought it over as he ate, a stable out of this horrid weather did seem a lot better. “Cub, what’s between us and Serenne Stable?”

“Um.. there’s the canyon?” Wild sipped his soup, “And the Forgotten Temple, but Four and Legend aren’t fun, so I bet they stuck to the road. So nothing, really. There aren’t any monster camps or anything. A few snow octoroks, an occasional icy lizalfos, but that’s it. Oh, and if they take a wrong turn around the canyon, they’ll run into a lynel.”

Hyrule nearly choked on his soup and Twilight had to pound on his back. 

“It’s fine, they’ll be fine. Legend’s fought plenty of lynels.” Wild reassured the other Hero. “And they won’t have to fight one if they take the right turn.” 

Time dearly hoped Four and Legend would keep on the road. As capable as they were, he would still worry. He worried about all of them. 

“Okay,” The eldest spoke, earning six pairs of eyes flitting over to him. “we’re on the right path. We’ll head out in the morning and get as far as we can. I’m sure our missing Heroes will be just fine at this Serenne Stable. For now, I want you boys to finish up eating and head to bed. Early start tomorrow, like always.” 

No one argued with him, not that Time expected anyone to. Everyone was tired from a long day of freezing in the cold weather. After everyone ate and cleaned up, and quickly checked on the horses to make sure they were doing well, they headed off to bed.

The stable manager seemed less friendly than the last, or at the least, unwilling to let seven men and boys push beds around. It meant no giant dog pile tonight, but it didn’t mean they didn’t end up sleeping in their usual tangle of limbs, it was just separated a bit. 

Time was the last to go to bed as usual. He didn’t sleep easily, but found a fond smile on his face as he went around, tucking in the stray foot or elbow poking out of the covers. Eventually, he crawled into bed as well, tired bones aching. 

There were no thoughts as he got settled, back pressed to Warriors’. Exhaustion lay heavy upon him as he allowed sleep to overtake him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Horse names are fun to make up :) In my current playthrough I have Biscuits, Brisket, and Beans! What are your guys' favorite horse names?  
> Thank you for all the love and support this fic has gotten! It really makes me happy to know that people can enjoy my own silly little writings!  
> Also I have a tumblr now! It's kenna-writes-n-stuff.tumblr.com :)

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is just a short preface, I promise the good fluff and stuff is coming soon!  
> I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! If you did, please feel free to leave a comment or kudos, as they make my day!  
> I hope you have a wonderful day!


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